respite
Americannoun
-
respites
plural
-
a delay or cessation for a time, especially of anything distressing or trying; an interval of relief.
to toil without respite.
-
temporary suspension of the execution of a person condemned to death; reprieve.
- Synonyms:
- stay, postponement
noun
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a pause from exertion; interval of rest
-
a temporary delay
-
a temporary stay of execution; reprieve
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of respite
First recorded in 1200–50; (for the noun) Middle English respit, from Old French, from Latin respectus “action of looking back, consideration, regard”; (for the verb) Middle English respiten, from Old French respitier, from Latin respectāre “to await, keep looking around,” from respicere “to look back”; see respect
Explanation
A respite is a break from something that's difficult or unpleasant. If you're cramming for exams, take an occasional walk to give yourself a respite from the intensity. Respite may look like it rhymes with despite, but this word has a stress on its first syllable (RES-pit). It comes from the Latin word respectus, meaning refuge, but we almost always use respite to describe a time, not a place, of relief. If you've been fighting with your partner, a visit from a friend might offer a brief respite from the argument, but the fight will pick up again when she leaves.
Vocabulary lists containing respite
"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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List 4
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"The Raven"
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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:
This gives the chancellor a few months of respite on the electoral front.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
"I've been trying to get some overnight respite as I want to be a mum to my girls as well as Zac," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
These breaks are a welcome respite from long stretches of sitting and screen-based learning, which is common in some classrooms despite questions about its efficacy.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
In Pattaya, the sailors from the Lincoln continue a long tradition of U.S. servicemen seeking respite at the city’s wide sandy beach, restaurants and bars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Even the jaded horsemen would take a respite from their labors to see him, eating their breakfasts outdoors on the benches near the siding.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
They were blessed respites from the morning breakfast rush and carpool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
There are some respites from the training, the running and marching, the room full of tear gas, the dead man’s float test, the hand-to-hand combat, the flower planting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Even for malaria the respites may be transient.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 25, 2023
But these respites only emphasize a pervasive sense of confinement.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
During his incarceration in Japan, the only respites Bobby had from boredom and emotional turmoil were the visits from his lawyers and Miyoko, and his use of the telephone.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
An hour later the crowd returned grumbling; they were disappointed that the beautiful criminal had been respited.
From Timar's Two Worlds by Mór Jókai
He was subsequently respited, and removed to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum.
From Norfolk Annals A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 2 by Charles Mackie
But convicts, who have been respited from a capital sentence, shall in no case be admitted into this class until, upon the representation of the commandant, their sentence shall have been mitigated by the governor.
From The History of Tasmania , Volume II by John West
Great compassion was evinced for her in the court, but she was still found guilty, though being near her pregnancy, her execution was respited.
From The Monarchs of the Main, Volume III (of 3) Or, Adventures of the Buccaneers by Walter Thornbury
He has not been forgiven; he has only been respited.
From The Parables of Our Lord by William Arnot
Then they made a last attempt in his favour, and voted for respiting the execution.
From Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches — Volume 2 by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay
The respiting of the burning of the hand till the king's pardon could be obtained was not to put him in a worse condition than he would have been in had he been actually burnt.
From State Trials Vol. 2 (of 2) Political and Social by Various
By this simple sentence a flood of light is thrown on the fact of respiting him alone amongst the four men admittedly concerned in the rescue.
From The Dock and the Scaffold by Unknown
"There is one strange fact about this," said the governor of the prison to Harkaway, "and that is, that one of the prisoners has taken the liberty of respiting himself."
From Jack Harkaway and His Son's Escape from the Brigand's of Greece by Bracebridge Hemyng
Then they made a last attempt in his favor, and voted for respiting the execution.
From Critical and Historical Essays, Volume III (of 3) by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay
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.
