commutation

noun

com·​mu·​ta·​tion ˌkäm-yə-ˈtā-shən 

-yü-

1

: exchange, trade

2

: replacement

specifically : a substitution of one form of payment or charge for another

a commutation by money payment for the exacted service

3

: a change of a legal penalty or punishment to a lesser one

commutation of a death sentence

4

: an act or process of commuting

… a ridge of hills makes daily commutation to San Francisco arduous.

—The New York Times

5

: the action of commutating

Synonyms of commutation

• exchange

Examples of commutation in a Sentence

He appealed for a commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment.

an international commutation of food for oil

Recent Examples on the Web

The commutations would go to inmates such as Charles Ng, who was convicted of killing six men, three women and two infant boys in Northern California in 1984 and 1985. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026

Newsom’s blanket commutation request includes notorious prisoners like Charles Ng, Richard Allen Davis, and Cary Stayner. — Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026

For Klaas, whose daughter’s killer, Richard Allen Davis, remains on death row, a blanket commutation would deny families the justice recommended by juries and imposed by judges. — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Attorneys call for commutation Pike was initially scheduled to be executed on Wednesday morning, but last-minute legal appeals delayed the execution to later in the day. — Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English commutacion, from Anglo-French, from Latin commutation-, commutatio, from commutare

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing commutation

• commutation ticket

Rhymes for commutation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

commutation

noun

com·​mu·​ta·​tion ˌkäm-yə-ˈtā-shən 

1

: exchange entry 1 sense 2, replacement

2

: a reduction of a legal penalty

3

: an act of commuting

4

: the process of reversing the direction of an electric circuit