Definition of commutation
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
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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 of commutation from the Web
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Hsiao On his last full day in office, former president Barack Obama granted at least 330 commutations to nonviolent drug offenders.
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The Obama administration denied his request for a commutation in January.
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He was released last month following the commutation of his sentence by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
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He was released last month following the commutation of his sentence by President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
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During radio interviews this week, Mr. LePage suggested his push for commutations was not a sudden shift in his views on the criminal justice system.
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But Hickenlooper has said is considering a possible commutation of the death sentence.
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President Obama's act of commutation was the first time the military took care of this soldier who risked so much to disclose information that served the public interest.
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Prior to the commutation, more than 115,000 people signed a White House petition calling for Manning to be released with time served.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'commutation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of commutation
Middle English commutacion, from Anglo-French, from Latin commutation-, commutatio, from commutare
COMMUTATION Defined for English Language Learners
commutation
playDefinition of commutation for English Language Learners
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law : a change of a punishment to a less severe one
Learn More about commutation
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See words that rhyme with commutation Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for commutation Britannica English: Translation of commutation for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about commutation
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