remit

play

verb re·mit \ ri-ˈmit \

Definition of remit

remitted; remitting

transitive verb

1 a :to lay aside (a mood or disposition) partly or wholly

b :to desist from (an activity)

c :to let (attention or diligence) slacken :relax

2 a :to release from the guilt or penalty of

remit sins

b :to refrain from exacting

remit a tax

c :to cancel or refrain from inflicting

remit the penalty

d :to give relief from (suffering)

3 :to submit or refer for consideration, judgment, decision, or action; specifically :remand

4 :to restore or consign to a former status or condition

5 :postpone, defer

6 :to send (money) to a person or place especially in payment of a demand, account, or draft

intransitive verb

1 a :to abate in force or intensity :moderate

b :to abate symptoms (as of a disease) for a period

2 :to send money (as in payment)

—

remitment

play \-ˈmit-mənt\ noun

—

remittable

play \-ˈmi-tə-bəl\ adjective

—

remitter

noun

See remit defined for English-language learners

See remit defined for kids

Examples of remit in a Sentence

A patient who has mild flare-ups in the skin and joints twice a year may one day awaken with kidney failure or paralysis that, one month later, mysteriously remits. —Elizabeth Rosenthal, New York Times Book Review, 19 Nov. 1989
And he was, therefore, as little surprised as a man could be, to find himself awakened at the small inn to which he had been remitted until morning, in the middle of the night. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859
I was brought in guilty and sentenced to die; but that the judges, having been made sensible of the hardship of my circumstances, had obtained leave to remit the sentence upon my consenting to be transported. —Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, 1722
Please remit $1,000 upon receipt of this letter.
Payment can be remitted by check.
The governor remitted the remainder of her life sentence.

Recent Examples of remit from the Web

In many states, the burden of paying sales taxes for online purchases is on the buyer, who is supposed to list online transactions on tax returns and remit any taxes due.

— lynnley browning, The Seattle Times, "Trump’s tweet highlights lingering Amazon tax fight," 17 Aug. 2017
While Airbnb collects and remits the tourism taxes levied by many French cities, its overall arrangements are clearly not to the liking of national authorities.

— david meyer, Fortune, "France Is Gearing Up For an Airbnb Tax Crackdown," 10 Aug. 2017
On May 12, I was diagnosed with MS, relapsing and remitting.

— tom hallman jr., OregonLive.com, "Tom Hallman: Devastating news, which she decided to share," 4 Aug. 2017
This puts Whittaker in an untenable situation, since she is being asked to solve problems that are beyond her ability and remit to fix.

— varad mehta, National Review, "Why Can’t the Doctor Be More Like a Woman?," 22 July 2017
Limitations of the study include its small sample size, due to the high cost of brain imaging, and the fact that all of the participants with a history of bulimia were recovered or remitted from the disorder, Ely said.

— jacqueline howard, CNN, "How bulimics' brains are different," 18 July 2017
Both the Indiana and South Dakota laws require online retailers that make 200 separate transactions or have sales exceeding $100,000 per year in the state to collect and remit the sales tax.

— kaitlin l lange, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana makes moves to force you to pay online sales tax," 29 June 2017
Allowing businesses to pay municipal income taxes through the state, which would keep 1 percent of revenues before remitting them to municipalities.

— jackie borchardt, cleveland.com, "Ohio House, Senate to take final votes on $130 billion budget bill, with Medicaid changes," 28 June 2017
In remarks introducing the report, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said China’s downgrade was partly due to its use of North Korean workers whose salaries are remitted directly to the government in Pyongyang.

— carol morello, Washington Post, "State Department reprimands China over sex trafficking and forced labor," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'remit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of remit

Middle English remitten, from Latin remittere to send back, from re- + mittere to send

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

remit Synonyms

Synonyms

abate, decline, de-escalate, die (away or down or out), diminish, drain (away), drop (off), dwindle, ease, ebb, fall, fall away, lessen, let up, lower, moderate, pall, phase down, ratchet (down) also rachet (down), recede, relent, decrease, shrink, subside, taper, taper off, wane

Antonyms

accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon (also bourgeon), enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mount, mushroom, pick up, rise, snowball, soar, swell, wax

Related Words

compress, condense, constrict, contract; evaporate, fade (away), fritter (away), give out, melt (away), peter (out), tail (off), vanish; slacken, slow (down); alleviate, relax; flag, sink, weaken; cave (in), collapse, deflate

Near Antonyms

appear, emerge, show up; blow up, distend, elongate, lengthen

remit

play

noun re·mit \ ri-ˈmit , ˈrē-ˌmit \

Definition of remit

1 British :an area of responsibility or authority —usually singular

The problem was outside/beyond our remit.

The BBC simply no longer sees producing Shakespeare as part of its remit as a public service television broadcaster.
—John Morrison

2 :an act of remitting

3 :something remitted to another person or authority

See remit defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of remit from the Web

A judge leading an official inquiry into the fire said this week that its remit wouldn’t include a review of social housing policy, despite calls from local residents to do so.

— simon montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, "Grenfell fire casts harsh light on London's dwindling low-income housing," 18 Aug. 2017
It is not permitted to consider issues that fall outside that remit, however.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "At the Keystone Pipeline Trial, the Future Is Banned From Discussion," 7 Aug. 2017
The project would be led by Gazprom, which is owned predominantly by the Russian government, thus placing it well within the remit of sanctions.

— noah daponte-smith, National Review, "Europe Balks at Our Russia Sanctions," 28 July 2017
This season a number of designers reached beyond the remit of traditional fashion.

— clive martin, CNN, "Men's Fashion Week: Designers step into a strange new world," 13 July 2017
Hopes were high that the G20 could expand its remit to global security and transnational challenges.

— thomas wright, The Atlantic, "The G20 Is Obsolete," 11 July 2017
Mueller has a nearly limitless remit to dig into Trump's political and financial life, as well as look into possible obstruction of justice by the president.

— douglas perry, OregonLive.com, "Even if Donald Trump didn't collude with the Russians, he still could be in big trouble: Commentary," 26 June 2017
Farrell points to a lack of co-ordination between naval fleets and security forces such as EU NAVFOR, which have a range of remits and priorities including prevention of drug smuggling and people trafficking.

— kieron monks, CNN, "Piracy threat returns to African waters," 25 May 2017
Future had a grander remit — more stage to work with, more time, more hits to attend to.

— jon caramanica, New York Times, "Review: Future and Migos, Onstage With Their Hits on Shuffle," 21 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of remit

see ¹remit

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

REMIT Defined for English Language Learners

remit

play

verb

Definition of remit for English Language Learners

: to send (money) as a payment
: to cancel or free someone from (a punishment, debt, etc.)

remit

play

noun

Definition of remit for English Language Learners

: an area of responsibility and authority

REMIT Defined for Kids

remit

play

verb re·mit \ ri-ˈmit \

Definition of remit for Students

remitted; remitting

1 :to send money (as in payment)

2 :²pardon 2

Medical Dictionary

remit

play

intransitive verb re·mit \ ri-ˈmit \

medical Definition of remit

remitted; remitting

:to abate symptoms for a period :go into or be in remission

her leukemia remitted for a year

Law Dictionary

remit

play

verb re·mit \ ri-ˈmit \

legal Definition of remit

remitted; remitting

transitive verb

1 a :to release from the guilt or penalty of

b :to refrain from exacting

remit a tax

c :to cancel or refrain from inflicting

remit the fine

2 :to submit or refer for consideration, judgment, decision, or action; specifically :remand

3 :to restore or consign to a former status or condition

4 :to send (money) to a person or place especially in payment of a demand, account, or draft

intransitive verb

:to send money (as in payment)

—

remitment

noun

—

remittable

adjective

Origin and Etymology of remit

Latin remittere to let go back, send back, give up, forgive, from re- back + mittere to let go, send

Learn More about remit

See words that rhyme with remit Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for remit Spanish Central: Translation of remit Nglish: Translation of remit for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of remit for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up remit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

remit

Definition of remit

remitment

remittable

remitter

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

Examples of remit in a Sentence

Recent Examples of remit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of remit

remit Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

remit

Definition of remit

Recent Examples of remit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of remit

Phrases Related to REMIT

Related Phrases

REMIT Defined for English Language Learners

remit

Definition of remit for English Language Learners

remit

Definition of remit for English Language Learners

REMIT Defined for Kids

remit

Definition of remit for Students

Medical Dictionary

remit

medical Definition of remit

Law Dictionary

remit

legal Definition of remit

remitment

remittable

Origin and Etymology of remit

Learn More about remit

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes

'So Long': A Common But Mysterious Goodbye

Trending: 'Bodega' Startup Draws Criticism, Mockery

Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!

Words of the Year: 1066