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indulgence - 6 dictionary results

in⋅dul⋅gence

  [in-duhl-juhns] noun, verb, -genced, -genc⋅ing.
Use indulgence in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act or practice of indulging; gratification of desire.
2. the state of being indulgent.
3. indulgent allowance or tolerance.
4. a catering to someone's mood or whim; humoring: The sick man demanded indulgence as his due.
5. something indulged in: Her favorite indulgence was candy.
6. Roman Catholic Church. a partial remission of the temporal punishment, esp. purgatorial atonement, that is still due for a sin or sins after absolution. Compare plenary indulgence.
7. English and Scottish History. (in the reigns of Charles II and James II) a grant by the king to Protestant dissenters and Roman Catholics freeing them from certain penalties imposed, by legislation, because of their religion.
8. Commerce. an extension, through favor, of time for payment or performance.
–verb (used with object)
9. Roman Catholic Church. to provide with an indulgence: an indulgenced pilgrimage to Rome.
Origin:
1325–75; ME < L indulgentia. See indulge, -ence

Synonyms:
3. sufferance, forbearance, allowance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To indulgence
in·dul·gence   (ĭn-dŭl'jəns)   
n.  
    1. The act or an instance of indulging; gratification: indulgence of every whim.
    2. The state of being indulgent.
    3. The act of indulging in something: indulgence in irresponsible behavior.
    4. Something indulged in: Sports cars are an expensive indulgence.
    5. Something granted as a favor or privilege.
    6. Permission to extend the time of payment or performance.
    7. Patient attention: I beg your indulgence for just a few minutes.
    1. The act of indulging in something: indulgence in irresponsible behavior.
    2. Something indulged in: Sports cars are an expensive indulgence.
    3. Something granted as a favor or privilege.
    4. Permission to extend the time of payment or performance.
    5. Patient attention: I beg your indulgence for just a few minutes.
  3. Liberal or lenient treatment; tolerance: treated their grandchildren with fond indulgence.
  4. Self-indulgence: a life of wealth and indulgence.
    1. Something granted as a favor or privilege.
    2. Permission to extend the time of payment or performance.
    3. Patient attention: I beg your indulgence for just a few minutes.
  6. Roman Catholic Church The remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved.
tr.v.   in·dul·genced, in·dul·genc·ing, in·dul·genc·es Roman Catholic Church
To attach an indulgence to.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Indulgence

In*dul"gence\, n. [L. indulgentia: cf. F. indulgence.]

1. The act of indulging or humoring; the quality of being indulgent; forbearance of restrain or control.

If I were a judge, that word indulgence should never issue from my lips. --Tooke.

They err, that through indulgence to others, or fondness to any sin in themselves, substitute for repentance anything less. --Hammond.

2. An indulgent act; favor granted; gratification.

If all these gracious indulgences are without any effect on us, we must perish in our own folly. --Rogers.

3. (R. C. Ch.) Remission of the temporal punishment due to sins, after the guilt of sin has been remitted by sincere repentance; absolution from the censures and public penances of the church. It is a payment of the debt of justice to God by the application of the merits of Christ and his saints to the contrite soul through the church. It is therefore believed to diminish or destroy for sins the punishment of purgatory.

Indulgence

In*dul"gence\, v. t. To grant an indulgence to.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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indulgence

In the Roman Catholic Church, a declaration by church authorities that those who say certain prayers or do good deeds will have some or all of their punishment in purgatory remitted.

Note: In the Middle Ages, indulgences were frequently sold, and the teaching on indulgences was often distorted. The attack by Martin Luther on the sale of indulgences began the Reformation.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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indulgence 
1362, "freeing from temporal punishment for sin," from L. indulgentia "complaisance, fondness, remission," from indulgentem (nom. indulgens), prp. of indulgere "be kind, yield," of unknown origin. Sense of "gratification of another's desire or humor" is attested from 1382. That of "yielding to one's inclinations" (technically self-indulgence) is from 1649. Indulge is a 1623 back-formation. In British history, Indulgence also refers to grants of certain liberties to Nonconformists under Charles II and James II, as special favors rather than legal rights; specifically the Declarations of Indulgence of 1672, 1687, and 1688 in England and 1669, 1672, and 1687 in Scotland.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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