reprieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to delay the impending punishment or sentence of (a condemned person).
-
to relieve temporarily from any evil.
noun
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a respite from impending punishment, as from execution of a sentence of death.
-
a warrant authorizing this.
-
any respite or temporary relief.
- Synonyms:
- deferment, stay, postponement, delay
verb
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to postpone or remit the punishment of (a person, esp one condemned to death)
-
to give temporary relief to (a person or thing), esp from otherwise irrevocable harm
the government has reprieved the company with a huge loan
noun
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a postponement or remission of punishment, esp of a person condemned to death
-
a warrant granting a postponement
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a temporary relief from pain or harm; respite
-
the act of reprieving or the state of being reprieved
Related Words
See pardon.
Other Word Forms
- reprievable adjective
- repriever noun
- unreprieved adjective
Etymology
Origin of reprieve
First recorded in 1300–50; perhaps conflation of Middle English repreven “to contradict,” variant of reproven “to rebuke,” apparently taken in literal sense “to prove again, test again,” and Middle English repried (past participle of reprien “to bring back”), from Old French reprit (past participle of reprendre “to take back”; reprise, reprove,
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.
Nuno was furious but Forest seized on the reprieve to equalise in the 55th minute.
From Barron's
“We might have had the delusion of a reprieve. But they didn’t change their mind.”
From Los Angeles Times
The furniture reprieve is no doubt intended to limit price increases for consumers.
The U.S. dollar has had a rough go of it in 2025 — but one recent development indicates that the beaten-down buck could be due for a bit of a reprieve in early 2026.
From MarketWatch
Such a challenge, if successful, could give retailers a short reprieve until legislation External link kicks in next year to remove the exemption.
From Barron's
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.
