amnesty
Americannoun
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amnesties
plural
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a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.
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Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole.
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a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.
verb (used with object)
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amnesties,
present (3rd person singular)
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amnestied,
past participle, past
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amnestying
present participle
noun
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a general pardon, esp for offences against a government
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a period during which a law is suspended to allow offenders to admit their crime without fear of prosecution
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law a pardon granted by the Crown or Executive and effected by statute
verb
Usage
What does amnesty mean? Amnesty is a pardon for offenses against a government, especially before a trial or conviction for those offenses. Amnesty also means an overlooking of past offenses. In law, amnesty refers to an act of forgiveness for past offenses, often issued to a class of people. An amnesty is a pardon for criminal offenses. However, a pardon can only be given after someone is judged guilty. Amnesty can be given before a judgment is made. Amnesty often also refers to the process of allowing undocumented immigrants stay in the country rather than be deported. Sometimes, an amnesty is named after the thing being forgiven. For example, an amnesty that says as long as you give in your illegal guns to the government you won’t be prosecuted for illegal ownership would be called a gun amnesty or firearm amnesty. Example: The government offered an amnesty for anyone owning an illegal weapon if they handed the weapon in before the deadline.
Synonym Usage
See pardon.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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amnestysimple
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amnestiessimple
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have amnestiedperfect
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has amnestiedperfect
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am amnestyingprogressive
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are amnestyingprogressive
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is amnestyingprogressive
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have been amnestyingperfect progressive
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has been amnestyingperfect progressive
Past
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amnestiedsimple
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had amnestiedperfect
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was amnestyingprogressive
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were amnestyingprogressive
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had been amnestyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of amnesty
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French amnestie, or directly from Latin amnēstia, from Greek amnēstía “oblivion,” equivalent to ámnēst(os) “forgetting” (from a- negative prefix + mnēs- “remember” + -tos verbal adjective suffix) + -ia noun suffix; see a- 6, -y 3
Explanation
Amnesty means an official pardon, often for a large group of people. When political prisoners receive amnesty, all legal records of their convictions are officially eliminated. Amnesty sounds a little like "amnesia," and that's because in its more specific sense amnesty means "forgetting." The government will essentially forget about any crimes that may have been committed. As part of a truce, amnesty can be granted to opposition forces, and if an incarcerated person gets amnesty, they're set free.
Vocabulary lists containing amnesty
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Vocabulary from the Third and Final Presidential Debate, October 19, 2016
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This Week in Words: January 20 - 26, 2018
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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.
See Examples For:
But he also asked lawmakers to consider a kind of "special amnesty for those who repent."
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Earlier this year, the Spanish government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it would offer amnesty and legalize an estimated half a million immigrants who had arrived illegally in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
A previous amnesty named "Operation Blade", run in the former Strathclyde policing area in 1993, saw about 4,500 weapons voluntarily given up.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
“I support a system that rewards those who follow the rules and wait their turn, not one that gives a fast pass or grants amnesty to those who cut in line,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
A group of experts at the U.N. urged a national convention for South Africa that would lead to a truly representative parliament, and recommended an amnesty for all op-ponents of apartheid.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
It added that "to date" nearly 2,000 Ethiopians had "benefited from royal amnesties" - without mentioning the crimes or sentences.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Critics likewise dismissed those steps as cosmetic measures, but Min Aung Hlaing said his government will "grant appropriate amnesties to support social reconciliation, justice and peace".
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
Argentina has announced dozens of tax amnesties over the years, only for the rules to be reversed by subsequent governments, which sometimes chase down Argentines for the assets and cash they just declared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
Additionally, government amnesties for shoddy construction allowed transgressors to pay fines rather than tear down or fix dangerous buildings.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
The Emperor has the right of pardoning, even in correctional cases, and of granting amnesties.
From Memoirs of the Private Life, Return, and Reign of Napoleon in 1815, Vol. II by Pierre Alexandre Édouard, baron Fleury de Chaboulon
Running as an outsider, Chavez, amnestied from prison only four years earlier, won the presidency, though with a total turnout of just 36%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
"He wants to be amnestied by the Spaniards, but if what has been agreed is not fulfilled, he will return to his old ways," he said.
From Reuters ● Nov. 11, 2023
When she and Tolokonnikova are amnestied by Putin, Alyokhina thinks, “Everyone needed this amnesty but me.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2017
There had been a parallel thaw within the Soviet Union, where Stalin’s successors had amnestied hundreds of thousands of political prisoners and Khrushchev had denounced Stalin’s crimes.
From Time ● Oct. 16, 2015
An amnestied king returned powerless to his palace.
From History of the Girondists, Volume I Personal Memoirs of the Patriots of the French Revolution by H. T. Ryde
Kobe Bryant will most likely return when he is healthy, unless one believes that this Lakers organization would risk the backlash involved in amnestying him, but nobody knows when that will be.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 29, 2013
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.
