remission
Americannoun
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remissions
plural
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the act of remitting.
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pardon; forgiveness, as of sins or offenses.
- Synonyms:
- absolution
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abatement or diminution, as of diligence, labor, intensity, etc.
- Synonyms:
- relaxation
- Antonyms:
- intensification
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the relinquishment of a payment, obligation, etc.
- Synonyms:
- release
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Medicine/Medical.
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a temporary or permanent decrease or subsidence of manifestations of a disease.
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a period during which such a decrease or subsidence occurs.
The patient's leukemia was in remission.
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noun
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the act of remitting or state of being remitted
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a reduction of the term of a sentence of imprisonment, as for good conduct
he got three years' remission
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forgiveness for sin
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discharge or release from penalty, obligation, etc
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lessening of intensity; abatement, as in the severity of symptoms of a disease
Usage
What is remission? In medicine, remission refers to a temporary or permanent decrease in the symptoms of a disease. Remission also refers to a release from a penalty or obligation, as in Fang was relieved when the bank gave him remission for the late fees on his car loan. Remission can also refer to the forgiveness of sin, as in The remission of sin is granted by the Church. Example: After four years of fighting cancer, I finally entered remission last week.
Discover More
The term remission is often used in speaking of sufferers from leukemia or other cancers whose symptoms lessen or disappear. In such a case, the disease is said to be “in remission.” The period of remission may last only briefly or may extend over several months or years.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of remission
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin remissiōn-, stem of remissiō; equivalent to remiss + -ion
Explanation
Remission refers to a stage of lesser intensity, when something subsides or improves. Remission is usually a good thing — like when your cancer is in remission, it means that it is manageable and not getting any worse. Remission comes from the Latin remissionem, meaning "relaxation; a sending back." If something difficult lets up, you'll be able to relax a little. For example, if you are being pelted non-stop during a dodgeball game, you'd hope for a remission so you'd have a minute to take a breath and find your glasses. Another meaning of the noun remission is a payment. Your college tuition remission must be taken care of before you start classes.
Vocabulary lists containing remission
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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The Fault in Our Stars
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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:
For the first time since beating his cancer into remission, radio play-by-play broadcaster Charley Steiner called a complete game for the Dodgers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
A third of patients whose cancer worsened on other immunotherapies experienced remission on RP1, with cancers vanishing in one of six.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
"I am in remission and the message I want to spread it is possible to live with cancer," Lynette said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I have been on a long journey,” said Vaknine, who has been in remission for the past decade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
After five years of treatment, the drug appeared to chase the cancer into remission.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
Adding a third treatment called CSF-1R blockade, which targets tumor associated macrophages, increased the number of complete remissions to five out of ten mice.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Through his remissions, they pursued fertility treatments and rounds of IVF, but miscarried each time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
Schaefer was released from a Bali jail on Tuesday morning after receiving a number of remissions for good behaviour.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Cromhout told Science that four children now have had ART-free remissions for longer than 6 months and one is out 29 months.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 7, 2024
This fever continued, though with remissions, for two or three weeks; and the patient repeatedly lost blood, used cathartics with calomel and sena, and had frequent antimonial and saline medicines.
From Zoonomia, Vol. II Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Erasmus Darwin
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.
