indulta

Indulta is a conjugated form of the Spanish verb indultar, meaning to pardon or grant leniency. Specifically, indulta is the third-person singular present indicative form (él/ella/usted indulta) and can be used in reference to a judge, authority, or other figure who pardons someone. The form is also encountered as part of imperative constructions in informal speech, but its primary grammatical role is as a present tense form.

The verb indultar comes from the broader family of words related to leniency and mercy, with its development linked to legal and political mechanisms for granting clemency. The related noun indulto denotes the pardon itself, the act of forgiveness granted by an authority. Other related terms in the same semantic field include indulto, indulgencia, and indolencia, which appear in different contexts of mercy, leniency, or exemption.

Usage notes: In standard prose, indulta is used to describe actual acts of pardon performed by an actor in authority. Examples include sentences such as “El juez indulta a un condenado” (The judge pardons a convict) or “El presidente indulta a varios reos” (The president pardons several prisoners). Distinctions among indultar (to pardon), indulto (pardon), and indulta (present tense form) are common in legal, historical, and political writing. The term is widely understood in Spanish-speaking contexts and is rarely encountered outside of those linguistic boundaries.

See also: indultar, indulto, indulgencia, pardon.