parole
1 Americannoun
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Penology.
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the conditional release of a person from prison prior to the end of the maximum sentence imposed.
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such release or its duration.
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an official document authorizing such a release.
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Military.
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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.
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(formerly) any password given by authorized personnel in passing by a guard.
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word of honor given or pledged.
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(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)
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paroles,
present (3rd person singular)
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paroled,
past participle, past
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paroling
present participle
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to place or release on parole.
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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
noun
noun
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the freeing of a prisoner before his sentence has expired, on the condition that he is of good behaviour
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the duration of such conditional release
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a promise given by a prisoner, as to be of good behaviour if granted liberty or partial liberty
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a variant spelling of parol
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military a password
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linguistics language as manifested in the individual speech acts of particular speakers Compare langue performance competence
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conditionally released from detention
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informal (of a person) under scrutiny, esp for a recurrence of an earlier shortcoming
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verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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parolesimple
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parolessimple
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have paroledperfect
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has paroledperfect
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am parolingprogressive
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are parolingprogressive
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is parolingprogressive
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have been parolingperfect progressive
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has been parolingperfect progressive
Past
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paroledsimple
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had paroledperfect
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was parolingprogressive
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were parolingprogressive
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had been parolingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of parole
First recorded in 1610–20; from Middle French, short for parole d'honneur “word of honor”. See parol
Explanation
If you're in prison, after serving a few years you might be let out on parole, a promise to be good and check in regularly. Parole comes from the French for "word," and means "word of honor." You'll most frequently hear it in relation to prisoners, who promise to fulfill certain conditions in return for an early release from jail. When the officials are trying to decide whether a prisoner is ready for parole, they have a parole hearing. Parole can also mean "password." If you're part of an underground revolutionary group, you'll need a parole to help keep your meetings secret. Just say the word at the door, and they'll let you in.
Vocabulary lists containing parole
Freak the Mighty
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Seedfolks
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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:
In the past few months, it has given the green light to commutations of sentences of life without parole so that they “can be eligible for a parole suitability hearing.”
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
"I will therefore issue the same commutation to every condemned person -- life without the possibility of parole," he added.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that he plans to commute death sentences for 548 people facing execution by the state, allowing them to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
However, the prosecution was successful in their appeal that Patterson's sentence of 33 years with parole was insufficient.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
In the middle sat Garvey, the gravelly-voiced, wisecracking Indian parole officer from Minneapolis.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
Initially, both sides assumed that the familiar practice of cartels and paroles would be maintained.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
“These paroles have since been terminated with immediate effect,” the agency announced on X. Again, it was unclear specifically who this applied to and if these individuals were notified.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2025
The revocation, she ruled, would have to be on a case-by-case basis, just as their paroles had been granted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
When asked about paroles, Evers deflected criticism by noting that any decision to grant parole is not up to the governor but the commission which operates independently of him.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
The "Constitution" made sail for San Salvador, where the prisoners were landed; first giving their paroles not to serve against the "United States" until regularly exchanged.
From The Naval History of the United States Volume 1 by Willis J. (Willis John) Abbot
One of them was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, and the other was paroled after cooperating with investigators.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the U.S. government was bound by a Biden-era court settlement to expedite asylum claims of Afghans paroled into the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
"This is an ongoing sentence from which I can never be paroled."
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
The sentence was later reduced to eight years, and Bakker was paroled after serving just five.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2025
That stupid guy had been paroled briefly to serve as director at Camp Half-Blood.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
South Koreans have been divided over whether Mr. Lee was worth paroling.
From New York Times ● Aug. 9, 2021
The HSI agent also wrote out a formal order paroling one of Mr. Sargsyan’s Armenian relatives into the U.S., and got his supervisor to sign off, Mr. Sargsyan says.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 29, 2020
“State paroling systems vary so much that it is almost impossible to compare them,” Jorge Renaud, an analyst at the Prison Policy Initiative, a think tank, wrote in a report earlier this year.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 25, 2019
But Johnson has said that the Michigan Parole Board has never expressed interest in paroling him.
From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2018
On the same day the Raleigh and the Baltimore secured the surrender of the batteries on Corregidor Island, paroling the garrison and destroying the guns.
From The Greater Republic A History of the United States by Charles Morris
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