reprieve
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to delay the impending punishment or sentence of (a condemned person).
-
to relieve temporarily from any evil.
noun
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a respite from impending punishment, as from execution of a sentence of death.
-
a warrant authorizing this.
-
any respite or temporary relief.
- Synonyms:
- deferment, stay, postponement, delay
verb
-
to postpone or remit the punishment of (a person, esp one condemned to death)
-
to give temporary relief to (a person or thing), esp from otherwise irrevocable harm
the government has reprieved the company with a huge loan
noun
-
a postponement or remission of punishment, esp of a person condemned to death
-
a warrant granting a postponement
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a temporary relief from pain or harm; respite
-
the act of reprieving or the state of being reprieved
Synonym Usage
See pardon.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reprievesimple
-
reprievessimple
-
have reprievedperfect
-
has reprievedperfect
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am reprievingprogressive
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are reprievingprogressive
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is reprievingprogressive
-
have been reprievingperfect progressive
-
has been reprievingperfect progressive
Past
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reprievedsimple
-
had reprievedperfect
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was reprievingprogressive
-
were reprievingprogressive
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had been reprievingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reprieve
First recorded in 1300–50; perhaps conflation of Middle English repreven “to contradict,” variant of reproven “to rebuke,” apparently taken in literal sense “to prove again, test again,” and Middle English repried (past participle of reprien “to bring back”), from Old French reprit (past participle of reprendre “to take back”; see reprise, reprove,
Explanation
A reprieve is a break in or cancellation of a painful or otherwise lousy situation. If you're being tortured, a reprieve is a break from whatever's tormenting you. For some, a night at the opera is a night of punishing boredom during which the only reprieve is the intermission. For others, it's baseball that feels like torture. The seventh-inning stretch is the only reprieve from a night of endless waiting. Often, you'll hear reprieve used when a court or governor decides not to execute a prisoner. That prisoner is given a reprieve and will be allowed to live. He probably won't get a reprieve from prison, though, unless he's found innocent.
Vocabulary lists containing reprieve
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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List 2
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The Constitution of the United States
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the March 26, 2026, print edition as 'Hochul Wants a Climate Reprieve'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
He established Evan Williams Racing in 2003 and trained Secret Reprieve, which won the rearranged 2020 Welsh Grand National at Chepstow.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
Reprieve can be found at the movies — whether in the laughter, the screams and the audible reactions, or the heated and excited discussions that happen after the credits roll.
From Salon • Jan. 6, 2026
“We know that there’s racism in the criminal justice system,” said Maya Foa, an executive director of Reprieve.
From New York Times • Apr. 18, 2024
Reprieve came presumably by way of the good-sense of the pilot of the space ship.
From Asteroid of Fear by Gallun, Raymond Z.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
