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:
Stop-and-start peace negotiations in the Middle East brought a respite for gasoline prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
But Baek Su-hyun said that offers no respite in Guryong.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Anecdotes and analysis are interspersed with photos of all sorts of sofas and couches, calling into question ideas about where and how we find respite and support — or not.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Yet a U.S. truce with Iran has broken down, and oil prices are up again — so the respite might not last long.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
But Livingston had just had his brainstorm about removing the grids from the dees, and taking a respite at such a moment fit neither his personality nor Lawrence’s calendar.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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
A smaller seaside resort flourished at Crescent Beach, just north of the White Rock beach resort town, with its own cluster of cottages, eateries and sandy respites.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 29, 2023
During one of these respites, Diana drew Lyddie to the nearest window.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
He was afterwards taken prisoner at Preston, impeached before the House of Peers in 1716, and sentenced to be executed as a traitor, and his estate forfeited; but eventually he was respited and pardoned.
From Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 Volume II. by Mrs. Thomson
But at the period of our story men were often respited for short or long periods, yet suffered at last.
From International Short Stories English by Various
Dick felt as if he had been respited after condemnation, and began to breathe freely.
From The Queen's Scarlet The Adventures and Misadventures of Sir Richard Frayne by A. Monro Smith
Yet as he knelt with the axe lifted above him, he was respited and banished to Siberia; and on his way thither a courier overtook him, bearing a pardon for him and his banished brothers.
From Historic Tales, Vol. 8 (of 15) The Romance of Reality by Charles Morris
The sentence was afterwards respited and they were transported for life; their last appearance in the village being when they rode through on the coach bound for London, and thence to the convict settlement.
From Fragments of Two Centuries Glimpses of Country Life when George III. was King by Alfred Kingston
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
"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 favour, and voted for respiting the execution.
From Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches — Volume 2 by Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron Macaulay
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
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
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.
