reprieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to delay the impending punishment or sentence of (a condemned person).
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to relieve temporarily from any evil.
noun
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a respite from impending punishment, as from execution of a sentence of death.
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a warrant authorizing this.
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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)
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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
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a warrant granting a postponement
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a temporary relief from pain or harm; respite
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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.
The latter charge, comprising a breach of allegiance owed to a sovereign or state, was crucial because it was not subject to reprieve or commutation by the governor without consent of the Legislature.
From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026
First Minister John Swinney visited the Larbert factory last September to announce details of the furlough scheme, which offered a reprieve for 400 staff threatened with redundancy.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
A Russian oil tanker was set to deliver the first crude shipment to Cuba since January on Tuesday after Washington gave the crisis-hit island a reprieve from an effective fuel blockade.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
It also got a reprieve in November, when Trump modified his executive order to exempt more than 100 food items from the tariffs—including the desiccated coconut Kesselhaut imports from the Philippines.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
The man raised his hands above his head and folded them there, seeking reprieve.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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.
