Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The action or an instance of indulging.
  • noun The state of being indulgent; tolerance.
  • noun Something indulged in.
  • noun Self-indulgence.
  • noun An extension of time for the payment of a debt or the performance of a duty.
  • noun Roman Catholic Church The remission of punishment still due, especially in purgatory, for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of indulging; forbearance of restraint or control; gratification of desire or humor; also, the character of being indulgent.
  • noun Something with which one is indulged or gratified; a favor granted; an act of grace.
  • noun In com., forbearance of present payment; an extension, through favor, of the time in which a debt can be paid: as, to grant an indulgence of three months on a note.
  • noun In Roman Catholic theology: Remission of sins: used in this sense by the earlier ecclesiastical writers.
  • noun A remission of the punishment which is still due to sin after sacramental absolution, this remission being valid in the court of conscience and before God, and being made by an application of the treasure of the church on the part of a lawful superior. Eusebius Amort, History of Indulgences, quoted in Cath. Dict.
  • noun Relaxation of an ecclesiastical law, or exemption of a particular individual from its provisions: properly called dispensation.
  • noun In Scottish history, in the reigns of Charles II. and James II., permission to hold religious services.
  • noun A proclamation by Charles II. In 1671 or 1672, promising the suspension of penal laws relating to ecclesiastical matters which were directed against nonconformists. It was rejected by Parliament.
  • noun A proclamation by James II. in 1687, annulling penal laws against Roman Catholics and nonconformists, and abolishing religious tests for office. The refusal to read this declaration by several prelates led to their trial, and was one of the causes of the revolution of 1688.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To grant an indulgence to.
  • noun The act of indulging or humoring; the quality of being indulgent; forbearance of restrain or control.
  • noun An indulgent act; favor granted; gratification.
  • noun (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.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun the act of indulging
  • noun tolerance
  • noun catering to someone's every desire
  • noun something in which someone indulges
  • noun Roman Catholicism A pardon or release from the expectation of punishment in purgatory, after the sinner has been granted absolution.
  • verb transitive (Roman Catholic Church) to provide with an indulgence

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an inability to resist the gratification of whims and desires
  • noun a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone
  • noun the remission by the pope of the temporal punishment in purgatory that is still due for sins even after absolution
  • noun the act of indulging or gratifying a desire
  • noun foolish or senseless behavior

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French indulgence, or its source, Latin indulgentia.

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Examples

  • This indulgence is a plenary one from November 1 through November 8 and can be gained on each one of these days.

    Christmas is coming. . . . . John 2008

  • This indulgence is already contained in the apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, norm 15. it is included here in light of the Sacred Penitentiary's deliberations since the constitution was issued.

    Christmas is coming. . . . . John 2008

  • This indulgence is applicable only to the souls in purgatory.

    Christmas is coming. . . . . John 2008

  • On the other days of the year this indulgence is apartial one.

    Christmas is coming. . . . . John 2008

  • This indulgence is a plenary one from November 1 through November 8 and can be gained on each one of these days.

    11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 John 2003

  • On the other days of the year this indulgence is a partial one.

    11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 John 2003

  • This indulgence is applicable only to the souls in purgatory.

    11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 John 2003

  • This indulgence is already contained in the apostolic constitution, Indulgentiarum doctrina, norm 15.

    11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 John 2003

  • As he declared in the approval ratings Bush's comments are in the category of "who cares what this self centered jerk thinks" The bush clan just will never get the point, after all self indulgence is a sickness.

    Jeb Bush: 'I don't know' if Obama is a socialist 2009

  • One could make the case that just as drugs are addictive, and require the addict to partake in more and more powerful drugs to achieve the same high, even so sexual indulgence is an addiction requiring new highs, with homosexuality, bestiality, pedophilia, etc. merely variants of the ‘drugs’ required to achieved said highs.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Justice Kagan I Presume? 2010

Comments

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  • I added this word because of its usage in Roman Catholicism.

    July 18, 2007

  • Former Catholic pardon granted for remission of punishment for sins.

    May 25, 2008

  • "The Renaissance was an age in which more individuals felt the value of

    their human being. Martin Luther was nailed to the church door at

    Wittenberg for selling papal indulgences. He died a horrible death, being

    excommunicated by a bull. It was the painter Donatello's interest in the

    female nude that made him the father of the Renaissance. It was an age of

    great inventions and discoveries. Gutenberg invented the Bible. Sir Walter

    Raleigh is a historical figure because he invented cigarettes. Another

    important invention was the circulation of blood. Sir Francis Drake

    circumcised the world with a 100-foot clipper."

    - supposedly 'pasted together from real sentences written by

    students on history exams in the U.S.', virtualteacher.com.au

    February 1, 2009