Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Indulgence \In*dul"gence\, v. t.
   To grant an indulgence to.

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.

Source : WordNet®

indulgence
     n 1: an inability to resist the gratification of whims and
          desires [syn: {self-indulgence}]
     2: a disposition to yield to the wishes of someone; "too much
        indulgence spoils a child" [syn: {lenience}, {leniency}]
     3: the act of indulging or gratifying a desire [syn: {indulging},
         {pampering}, {humoring}]
     4: foolish or senseless behavior [syn: {folly}, {foolery}, {tomfoolery},
         {craziness}, {lunacy}]
     5: the remission by the pope of the temporal punishment in
        purgatory that is still due for sins even after
        absolution; "in the Middle Ages the unrestricted sale of
        indulgences by pardoners became a widespread abuse"