Meaning & use
amnesty
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
An official decision to forgive a group of people for an offense, so they are not punished.
Grammar: Often granted to a group, and used with grant or declare an amnesty.
Patterns
- an amnesty for someone
- grant an amnesty
The government granted an amnesty to political prisoners.
Immigrants without papers were offered an amnesty.
The amnesty covered crimes committed during the war.
nouncountable
A short period when people can hand over banned items or settle debts without penalty.
Grammar: Usually a limited time window: a weapons amnesty.
Patterns
- a weapons/tax amnesty
The police ran a knife amnesty for the month.
The library announced a fines amnesty.
A tax amnesty let people pay late bills with no penalty.
verbtransitiverareformal
To pardon officially.
Grammar: Rare as a verb; usually seen in the passive form.
Patterns
- amnesty someone
The rebels were amnestied after the treaty.
The leader amnestied all those who laid down arms.
Word forms
| plural | amnesties |
|---|---|
| third person singular | amnesties |
| past tense | amnestied |
| -ing form | amnestying |
Common combinations
- grant an amnesty
- The president granted an amnesty to protesters.
- general amnesty
- A general amnesty ended the conflict.
- tax amnesty
- The city offered a tax amnesty.
- amnesty for
- There was an amnesty for those who surrendered.
- offer an amnesty
- The ministry offered an amnesty to deserters.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pardon
- A pardon usually frees one person, while amnesty usually covers a whole group.
- reprieve
- A reprieve only delays punishment, while an amnesty cancels it.
- clemency
- Clemency is mercy shown by someone in power, often reducing a sentence rather than erasing the offense.
- absolution
- Absolution is religious or moral forgiveness, not official legal forgiveness.
Opposites
Word family
- amnestied adjective
- covered by an amnesty
- amnesia noun
- loss of memory, from the same Greek root meaning forgetting
Commonly confused: amnesty or amnesia?
amnesty vs amnesia
Amnesia is memory loss, while amnesty is official forgiveness; both come from a word meaning forgetting.
Practice
The new law offered an ___ to anyone who turned in illegal weapons before March.
Choose one answer.
An amnesty protects people from punishment for handing items over. Amnesia is memory loss, an embargo is a trade ban and an audit is a check of accounts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “amnesty”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.