amnesty
Americannoun
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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)
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:
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in protest and the Serbian government reacted with a gun amnesty and tougher laws.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 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
Rodriguez, who served as Maduro's vice president, has also pushed through an amnesty law that led to the release of hundreds of political prisoners, though some 500 remain behind bars.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
She was granted amnesty and became a U.S. citizen under the immigration reform bill signed by President Reagan in 1986.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2026
That month, I had another homecoming: I returned to Robben Island in order to persuade twenty-five MK political prisoners to accept the government’s offer of amnesty and leave the island.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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
In the last 20 years the Kenyan government has used amnesties as a way of controlling gun crime, promising immunity to those who surrender their weapons.
From BBC ● May 26, 2024
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
I pledge myself to produce, in the history of the Mogul empire, a series of pardons and amnesties for rebellions, from its earliest establishments, and in its most distant provinces.
From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 11 (of 12) by Burke, Edmund
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
He questioned why imprisoned rebels who were amnestied six months ago remain in jail and complained about the state of the Mariana Paez demobilization camp where the ceremony was taking place.
From Time ● Jun. 27, 2017
As you know, I am neither amnestied nor has my sentence been remitted.
From Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt — Volume 2 by Hueffer, Francis
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.
