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amnesty

[am-nuh-stee]
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noun, plural am·nes·ties.
  1. a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.
  2. Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole.
  3. a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.
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verb (used with object), am·nes·tied, am·nes·ty·ing.
  1. to grant amnesty to; pardon.
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Origin of amnesty

1570–80; (< Middle French amnestie) < Greek amnēstía oblivion, equivalent to ámnēst(os) forgetting (a- a-6 + mnēs- remember + -tos verbal adjective suffix) + -ia -y3

Synonyms

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1. See pardon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

reprieveforgivenessimmunitycondonationabsolutiondispensation

Examples from the Web for amnesty

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It's a thieves' amnesty at this moment, and I must not lose the opportunity.

  • Amnesty was extended to those who wished it and deserved it.

  • Then big Jenkins reached his hand out to Forsythe—but not in token of amnesty.

    The Wreck of the Titan

    Morgan Robertson

  • After the blessing, the amnesty I have promised will be read.

    The Hour and the Man

    Harriet Martineau

  • I believe this act of amnesty is only a device to put the plotters where he can get his hand on them.

    The White Mice

    Richard Harding Davis

British Dictionary definitions for amnesty

amnesty

noun plural -ties
  1. a general pardon, esp for offences against a government
  2. a period during which a law is suspended to allow offenders to admit their crime without fear of prosecution
  3. law a pardon granted by the Crown or Executive and effected by statute
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verb -ties, -tying or -tied
  1. (tr) to overlook or forget (an offence)
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Word Origin

C16: from Latin amnēstia, from Greek: oblivion, from amnēstos forgetting, from a- 1 + -mnēstos, from mnasthai to remember
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for amnesty

n.

"pardon of past offenses," 1570s, from French amnestie "intentional overlooking," from Latin amnestia, from Greek amnestia "forgetfulness (of wrong); an amnesty," from a-, privative prefix, "not" (see a- (3)), + mnestis "remembrance," related to mnaomai "I remember" (see mind (n.)). As a verb, from 1809. Amnesty International founded 1961 as Appeal for Amnesty. The name was changed 1963.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper