parole

¹ American  

[puh-rohl] / pəˈroʊl /

noun

1. Penology.

   1. the conditional release of a person from prison prior to the end of the maximum sentence imposed.

   2. such release or its duration.

   3. an official document authorizing such a release.

2. Military.

   1. the promise, usually written, of a prisoner of war, that if released they either will return to custody at a specified time or will not again take up arms against their captors.

   2. (formerly) any password given by authorized personnel in passing by a guard.

3. word of honor given or pledged.

4. (in U.S. immigration laws) the temporary admission of non-U.S. citizens into the United States for emergency reasons or on grounds considered in the public interest, as authorized by and at the discretion of the attorney general.

---

verb (used with object)

paroled, paroling

1. to place or release on parole.

2. to admit (a non-U.S. citizen) into the United States for emergency reasons or on grounds considered in the public interest.

   An increased number of Hungarian refugees were paroled into the United States.

adjective

1. of or relating to parole or parolees.

   a parole record.

parole ² American  

[pa-rawl] / paˈrɔl /

noun

French.

1. language as manifested in the actual utterances produced by speakers of a language (langue ).

---

parole British  

/ pəˈrəʊl, pəˌrəʊˈliː /

noun

1. 1. the freeing of a prisoner before his sentence has expired, on the condition that he is of good behaviour

   2. the duration of such conditional release

2. a promise given by a prisoner, as to be of good behaviour if granted liberty or partial liberty

3. a variant spelling of parol

4. military a password

5. linguistics language as manifested in the individual speech acts of particular speakers Compare langue performance competence

6. 1. conditionally released from detention

   2. informal (of a person) under scrutiny, esp for a recurrence of an earlier shortcoming

---

verb

1. to place (a person) on parole

Other Word Forms

• parolable adjective
• parolee noun
• unparolable adjective
• unparoled adjective

Etymology

Origin of parole

First recorded in 1610–20; from Middle French, short for parole d'honneur “word of honor”. See parol

Example Sentences

This would mean that he could only be released if the parole board decided he no longer posed a threat to the public.

From BBC

For two decades, she went annually to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office to check in about her parole.

From Los Angeles Times

Now hundreds of decisions to deny parole to some of those prisoners are getting a second look.

From Los Angeles Times

The group is also calling on both government agencies to return the family to the U.S. through the process of humanitarian parole.

From Los Angeles Times

Read this excellent Andrew McCarthy piece on the problems with terror-related prosecutions, sentences, parole and supervision.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• let out
• liberate
• pardon