Meaning & use
reprieve
Last updated
A temporary delay or cancellation of a punishment, or a brief period of relief from something difficult.
See it in a sentence
The governor granted the prisoner a last-minute reprieve from execution.
The rain gave farmers a brief reprieve from the summer drought.
A note on using this word
Reprieve can refer to formally delaying a legal punishment or, more loosely, to any welcome pause from hardship.
Words with a similar meaning
postponementrespite
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
To grant a temporary delay of punishment to someone.
The judge reprieved the sentence pending appeal.
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