parole

[puh-rohl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR parole ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Penology.

the conditional release of a person from prison prior to the end of the maximum sentence imposed.
such release or its duration.
an official document authorizing such a release.

Military.

the promise, usually written, of a prisoner of war, that if released he or she either will return to custody at a specified time or will not again take up arms against his or her captors.
(formerly) any password given by authorized personnel in passing by a guard.

word of honor given or pledged.

(in U.S. immigration laws) the temporary admission of aliens into the U.S. 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), pa·roled, pa·rol·ing.

to place or release on parole.

to admit (an alien) into the U.S. under the parole provision: An increased number of Hungarian refugees were paroled into the United States.

adjective

of or relating to parole or parolees: a parole record.

Origin of parole

1610–20; < Middle French, short for parole d'honneur word of honor. See parol

Related formspa·rol·a·ble, adjectiveun·pa·rol·a·ble, adjectiveun·pa·roled, adjective

parole

[pa-rawl]

noun French.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for parole

liberate, pardon, release, free

Examples from the Web for parole

Contemporary Examples of parole

On his eighth try, more than three decades after he went in, the parole board finally voted to release Sam.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015
As a free man, even on parole, I can sense that my life has value again.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison
Daniel Genis
December 8, 2014
A series of judges and parole officers had ordered him to go as an alternative to jail.
Elizabeth Peña and the Truth About Alcoholic Women
Gabrielle Glaser
October 24, 2014
When convicted, those children can receive sentences as severe as life without the possibility of parole.
Paying Taxes and Going to Jail Like Adults; Teens Deserve the Right to Vote, Too
Jillian Keenan
October 6, 2014
But the law explicitly stated that a resulting life sentence was to be without even the possibility of parole.
How the North Carolina GOP Made a Wrongfully Convicted Man a Death Row Scapegoat
Michael Daly
September 4, 2014

Historical Examples of parole

Give me leave for three days on parole, and I will see you fully satisfied.
Captain Blood
Rafael Sabatini
This parole he broke, landing from Europe at Vera Cruz in 1824.
Aztec Land
Maturin M. Ballou
After reigning for a twelvemonth, he was banished from Mexico on parole never to return.
Aztec Land
Maturin M. Ballou
If he could be released from parole he would do loyal service for his country.
Rodney, the Ranger
John V. Lane
I gave my parole, and was allowed to come here to nurse him.
A War-Time Wooing
Charles King

British Dictionary definitions for parole

parole

noun

the freeing of a prisoner before his sentence has expired, on the condition that he is of good behaviour
the duration of such conditional release

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

a variant spelling of parol

US military a password

linguistics language as manifested in the individual speech acts of particular speakersCompare langue, performance (def. 7), competence (def. 5)

on parole

conditionally released from detention
informal(of a person) under scrutiny, esp for a recurrence of an earlier shortcoming

verb (tr)

to place (a person) on parole

Derived Formsparolable, adjectiveparolee (pəˌrəʊˈliː), noun

Word Origin for parole

C17: from Old French, from the phrase parole d'honneur word of honour; parole from Late Latin parabola speech

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 parole

1610s, "word of honor," especially "promise by a prisoner of war not to escape," from French parole "word, speech" (in parole d'honneur "word of honor") from Vulgar Latin *paraula "speech, discourse," from Latin parabola (see parable). Sense of "conditional release of a prisoner before full term" is first attested 1908 in criminal slang.

1716, from parole (n.). Originally it was what the prisoner did ("pledge"); its transitive meaning "put on parole" is first attested 1782. Related: Paroled; paroling.