reprieve
To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an executionTo cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution.
» Tom has been granted a reprieve.
Meaning
4 senses(transitive)To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution.
postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution
(transitive)To bring relief to someone.
(transitive)To abandon or postpone plans to close, withdraw or abolish (something).
(obsolete, transitive)To take back to prison (in lieu of execution).
Examples
5 sentencesTom has been granted a reprieve.
We've been granted only a temporary reprieve.
Sami was granted a reprieve.
The governor issued a reprieve hours before Tom was set to be executed by lethal injection.
I'm happy to hear that grandma is doing better, even though the doctors say it's just reprieve.
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
First use appears c. 1513 in the writings of Robert Fabyan. In the sense of “to take backFirst use appears c. 1513 in the writings of Robert Fabyan. In the sense of “to take back to prison”, from Middle English repryen (“to remand, detain”) (1494), possibly from Middle French repris, in the form of reprendre (“take back”); a cognate to reprise. The sense has become generalized, but does retain connotations of punishment and execution. The noun's first use appears c. 1592.
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Forms
reprieves, reprieving, reprieved, reprievedSynonyms
1 synonyms- postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution:respite
Word family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle