reprieve

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re·prieve

(rĭ-prēv′)

v. re·prieved, re·priev·ing, re·prieves

v.tr.

a. To prevent or suspend the punishment of (someone, especially a convicted criminal).

b. To prevent or suspend (a punishment).

2. To bring relief to: The rain reprieved us from the noise of the construction machinery.

v.intr.

To prevent the imposition of a scheduled or expected punishment, especially temporarily.

a. The prevention or suspension of a scheduled or expected punishment.

b. A court order or other official notification preventing or suspending a scheduled or expected punishment.

2. Temporary relief, as from danger or pain.

[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.]

re·priev′a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

reprieve

(rɪˈpriːv)

vb (tr)

1. (Law) to postpone or remit the punishment of (a person, esp one condemned to death)

2. to give temporary relief to (a person or thing), esp from otherwise irrevocable harm: the government has reprieved the company with a huge loan.

3. (Law) a postponement or remission of punishment, esp of a person condemned to death

4. (Law) a warrant granting a postponement

5. a temporary relief from pain or harm; respite

6. (Law) the act of reprieving or the state of being reprieved

[C16: from Old French repris (something) taken back, from reprendre to take back, from Latin reprehendere; perhaps also influenced by obsolete English repreve to reprove]

reˈprievable adj

reˈpriever n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re•prieve

(rɪˈpriv)

v. -prieved, -priev•ing,
n. v.t.

1. to delay the impending punishment or sentence of (a condemned person).

2. to relieve temporarily from any evil.

3. a respite from impending punishment, esp. from execution.

4. a warrant authorizing this.

5. any respite or temporary relief.

[1300–50; perhaps conflation of Middle English repreven to reprove, appar. in literal sense “to test again,” and Middle English repried (past participle) < Old French reprit (see reprise)]

syn: See pardon.

reprieve

Past participle: reprieved
Gerund: reprieving

Imperative
reprieve
reprieve

Present
I reprieve
you reprieve
he/she/it reprieves
we reprieve
you reprieve
they reprieve

Preterite
I reprieved
you reprieved
he/she/it reprieved
we reprieved
you reprieved
they reprieved

Present Continuous
I am reprieving
you are reprieving
he/she/it is reprieving
we are reprieving
you are reprieving
they are reprieving

Present Perfect
I have reprieved
you have reprieved
he/she/it has reprieved
we have reprieved
you have reprieved
they have reprieved

Past Continuous
I was reprieving
you were reprieving
he/she/it was reprieving
we were reprieving
you were reprieving
they were reprieving

Past Perfect
I had reprieved
you had reprieved
he/she/it had reprieved
we had reprieved
you had reprieved
they had reprieved

Future
I will reprieve
you will reprieve
he/she/it will reprieve
we will reprieve
you will reprieve
they will reprieve

Future Perfect
I will have reprieved
you will have reprieved
he/she/it will have reprieved
we will have reprieved
you will have reprieved
they will have reprieved

Future Continuous
I will be reprieving
you will be reprieving
he/she/it will be reprieving
we will be reprieving
you will be reprieving
they will be reprieving

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been reprieving
you have been reprieving
he/she/it has been reprieving
we have been reprieving
you have been reprieving
they have been reprieving

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been reprieving
you will have been reprieving
he/she/it will have been reprieving
we will have been reprieving
you will have been reprieving
they will have been reprieving

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been reprieving
you had been reprieving
he/she/it had been reprieving
we had been reprieving
you had been reprieving
they had been reprieving

Conditional
I would reprieve
you would reprieve
he/she/it would reprieve
we would reprieve
you would reprieve
they would reprieve

Past Conditional
I would have reprieved
you would have reprieved
he/she/it would have reprieved
we would have reprieved
you would have reprieved
they would have reprieved

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	reprieve - a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort respite relief, ease - the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress); "he enjoyed his relief from responsibility"; "getting it off his conscience gave him some ease"
	2.	reprieve - an interruption in the intensity or amount of something abatement, hiatus, respite, suspension break, interruption - some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity; "the telephone is an annoying interruption"; "there was a break in the action when a player was hurt" defervescence - abatement of a fever as indicated by a reduction in body temperature remission, subsidence, remittal - an abatement in intensity or degree (as in the manifestations of a disease); "his cancer is in remission"
	3.	reprieve - a warrant granting postponement (usually to postpone the execution of the death sentence) warrant - a writ from a court commanding police to perform specified acts law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
	4.	reprieve - the act of reprieving; postponing or remitting punishment respite mercy, clemency, mercifulness - leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice; "he threw himself on the mercy of the court" law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"
Verb	1.	reprieve - postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution respite postpone, prorogue, put off, defer, set back, shelve, table, put over, remit, hold over - hold back to a later time; "let's postpone the exam"
	2.	reprieve - relieve temporarily rescue, deliver - free from harm or evil

reprieve

verb

1. grant a stay of execution to, spare, amnesty, pardon, acquit, let off the hook (slang), grant an amnesty to, postpone or remit the punishment of Fourteen people, waiting to be hanged, have been reprieved.

2. save, rescue, give respite to Another 21 pits have been reprieved until the New Year at least.

noun

1. stay of execution, suspension, amnesty, pardon, respite, acquittal, remission, abeyance, deferment, postponement of punishment a reprieve for eight people waiting to be hanged

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

reprieve

noun

Temporary immunity from penalties:

grace, respite.

Translations

إرجاء تَنْفيذ الحُكْم بالإعْداميُرْجِئ تَنْفبذ الحُكْم بالإعْدام

milostodkladodložit popravuomilostnit

benådebenådning

begnadigen Begnadigung

grâce

halálbüntetés felfüggesztése

fresta refsingufrestun refsingar; náîun

sospensione tregua ultimo tempo concesso dilazionare dilazione

atidėti bausmės vykdymąbausmės vykdymo atidėjimas

atlikt sprieduma izpildīšanusprieduma izpildīšanas atlikšana

odložiť popravu

affetmekertelemeertelemek

缓刑缓刑令缓期执行

reprieve

[rɪˈpriːv]

A. N

1. (Jur) → indulto m; [of sentence] → conmutación f
to win a last-minute reprieve → ser indultado a última hora

2. (= delay) → aplazamiento m, alivio m temporal
the building got a reprieve → se retiró la orden de demoler el edificio

B. VT

1. (Jur) → indultar
to reprieve sb from death → suspender la pena de muerte de algn

2. (fig) → salvar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

reprieve

[rɪˈpriːv]

(LAW) → grâce f

(fig) (= delay) → sursis m

(LAW) → gracier

(fig) → accorder un sursis à

reprieve

n (Jur) → Begnadigung f; (= postponement) → Strafaufschub m; (fig) → Gnadenfrist f

vt he was reprieved (Jur) → er wurde begnadigt; (= sentence was postponed) → seine Strafe wurde aufgeschoben; the building/firm has been reprieved for a while → das Gebäude/die Firma ist vorerst noch einmal verschont geblieben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

reprieve

[rɪˈpriːv]

1. n (Law) (cancellation) → commutazione f della pena capitale; (postponement) → sospensione f dell'esecuzione della condanna; (delay, also, gen) → proroga

2. vt (Law) (for good) → rinviare l'esecuzione di; (for a time) → sospendere l'esecuzione di; (grant a delay) → concedere una proroga a (fig) → dare tregua a

reprieve

(rəˈpriːv) verb

to pardon (a criminal) or delay his punishment. The murderer was sentenced to death, but later was reprieved.

noun

the act of pardoning a criminal or delaying his punishment; the order to do this.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

It is like the message of reprieve from the sentence of sorrow suspended over many a home, even if some of the men in her have been the most homeless mortals that you may find among the wanderers of the sea.

View in context

My heart leaped within me for joy when I heard his voice at the door, even before I saw him; but let any one judge what kind of motion I found in my soul, when after having made a short excuse for his not coming, he showed me that his time had been employed on my account; that he had obtained a favourable report from the Recorder to the Secretary of State in my particular case, and, in short, that he had brought me a reprieve.

View in context

It may be, on the other hand, that the destruction of the Martians is only a reprieve. To them, and not to us, perhaps, is the future ordained.

View in context

This reprieve suggested to the worthy spectators remarks such as the following: --

View in context

Driving at that hour, on a lovely day, through a country to which the summer sweetness seemed to offer me a friendly welcome, my fortitude mounted afresh and, as we turned into the avenue, encountered a reprieve that was probably but a proof of the point to which it had sunk.

View in context

Death, that inexorable judge, had passed sentence on him, and refused to grant him a reprieve, though two doctors who arrived, and were fee'd at one and the same instant, were his counsel.

View in context

There had been no reprieve. In Sacramento was a railroad Governor who might reprieve or even pardon bank-wreckers and grafters, but who dared not lift his finger for a workingman.

View in context

In short, I say that this book, and all that may be found treating of those French affairs, should be thrown into or deposited in some dry well, until after more consideration it is settled what is to be done with them; excepting always one 'Bernardo del Carpio' that is going about, and another called 'Roncesvalles;' for these, if they come into my hands, shall pass at once into those of the housekeeper, and from hers into the fire without any reprieve."

View in context

No; there was no news come--no pardon--no reprieve.

View in context

Hunt, therefore, was prevailed upon to grant Pierre Dorion's horse a reprieve.

View in context

Jane would have begged for a further reprieve, had it not been that she too had begun to believe that her forest lover would return no more.

View in context

Take what precautions you please, if it is any satisfaction to you to do so; but rely upon my obtaining the reprieve I seek."