reprieve

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“
If I can get your sentence commuted--In fact, a reprieve is almost certain With a dash as lithe and sudden as that which had brought him in, Ford was out on the terrace, following the white dress and the waving scarf which were already disappearing down the yew-tree walk.

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Definitions (21)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. transitive verb To postpone or cancel the punishment of.
  2. transitive verb To bring relief to.
  3. noun Postponement or cancellation of a punishment.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (8)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (6)

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Examples (50)

  • But the reprieve was at the behest of the Conqueror, which meant it was a negative development. —  Triple Detente by Piers Anthony
  • She had the reputation of being a lady and beautiful; and petitions for her reprieve were sent to us signed by every kind of person from the United States. —  Margot Asquith, An Autobiography
  • But they also recognize the redemptive power of an otherwise bleak take on the New Testament: Those left behind have a kind of reprieve, a last chance, to make things right, with themselves and with their God. —  F ;SF; - vol 096 issue 02 - February 1999
  • Despite the reprieve, there have been five more homicides this year than at this time last year. —  Baltimore City Paper
  • "We've gotten a reprieve, and we won't be put out, but we still need to feed people and keep the lights on." —  theleafchronicle.com - Local News
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This word has been looked up 218 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

respite ·  stopover ·  deliverance ·  hiatus ·  sojourn ·  remission ·  succor ·  postponement ·  redress ·  armistice ·  renewal ·  amnesty
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Alteration (influenced by Middle English repreven, to contradict, variant of reproven, to rebuke) of Middle English reprien, probably from Old French repris, past participle of reprendre, to take back, from Latin reprehendere, reprēndere, to hold back; see reprehend.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English also repreeve, reprive; a particular use of reprove: see reprove, of which reprieve is a doublet.
  2. from reprieve, v. Cf. reproof.
 

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/rəˈpriv/
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