reprieved; reprieving
1
: to delay the punishment of (someone, such as a condemned prisoner)
2
: to give relief or deliverance to for a time
1
a
: the act of reprieving : the state of being reprieved
b
: a formal temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence especially of death
2
: an order or warrant for a temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence
3
: a temporary respite (as from pain or trouble)
Examples of reprieve in a Sentence
Verb
And many murderers have been reprieved because they were condemned for the wrong murder, quite probably just as many as have been executed for the only murder they did not in fact commit.
—
Christopher Hitchens, Nation, 14 May 2001
In a postscript to the very same letter, he added, 'If he must die, it were charity to reprieve him till Saturday.' If there had been any doubt of his fate, this weakness and meanness would have settled it. The very next day, which was the twelfth of May, he was brought out to be beheaded on Tower Hill.
—Charles Dickens, A Child's History of England, 1854
He was sentenced to death but then reprieved.
The library has been reprieved and will remain open for at least another year.
Noun
In Baghdad, you learn to savor small pleasures. When the weather turned unexpectedly cool one recent evening … , people emptied out of their houses, braving the ever present threat of violence in order to enjoy a brief reprieve from the heat.
—Aparisim Ghosh, Time, 11 July 2005
Six days later Captain Dufranne announced that they would sail early on the morrow. Jane would have begged for a further reprieve, had it not been that she too had begun to believe that her forest lover would return no more.
—Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, 1914
It may be, on the other hand, that the destruction of the Martians is only a reprieve. To them, and not to us, perhaps, is the future ordained.
—H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, 1898
That he did not regard it as a desperate case, that he did not say a few hours must end it, was at first felt, beyond the hope of most; and the ecstasy of such a reprieve, the rejoicing, deep and silent, after a few fervent ejaculations of gratitude to Heaven had been offered, may be conceived.
—Jane Austen, Persuasion, 1817
Death, that inexorable judge, had passed sentence on him, and refused to grant him a reprieve, though two doctors who arrived, and were fee'd at one and the same instant, were his counsel.
—Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749
They wanted to close the library, but we managed to get a reprieve for it.
This warm spell has given us a reprieve from the winter cold.
Christopher Hitchens, Nation, 14 May 2001
In a postscript to the very same letter, he added, 'If he must die, it were charity to reprieve him till Saturday.' If there had been any doubt of his fate, this weakness and meanness would have settled it. The very next day, which was the twelfth of May, he was brought out to be beheaded on Tower Hill.
—Charles Dickens, A Child's History of England, 1854
He was sentenced to death but then reprieved.
The library has been reprieved and will remain open for at least another year.
Noun
In Baghdad, you learn to savor small pleasures. When the weather turned unexpectedly cool one recent evening … , people emptied out of their houses, braving the ever present threat of violence in order to enjoy a brief reprieve from the heat.
—Aparisim Ghosh, Time, 11 July 2005
Six days later Captain Dufranne announced that they would sail early on the morrow. Jane would have begged for a further reprieve, had it not been that she too had begun to believe that her forest lover would return no more.
—Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, 1914
It may be, on the other hand, that the destruction of the Martians is only a reprieve. To them, and not to us, perhaps, is the future ordained.
—H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, 1898
That he did not regard it as a desperate case, that he did not say a few hours must end it, was at first felt, beyond the hope of most; and the ecstasy of such a reprieve, the rejoicing, deep and silent, after a few fervent ejaculations of gratitude to Heaven had been offered, may be conceived.
—Jane Austen, Persuasion, 1817
Death, that inexorable judge, had passed sentence on him, and refused to grant him a reprieve, though two doctors who arrived, and were fee'd at one and the same instant, were his counsel.
—Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749
They wanted to close the library, but we managed to get a reprieve for it.
This warm spell has given us a reprieve from the winter cold.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jim Edwards, Fortune, 30 June 2025
Businesses and households rush to import goods during tariff reprieves and then lessen their purchasing when the levies are set back in place.
—Ivan Illan, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Elena Moore, NPR, 1 July 2025
That order reduced Trump’s country-specific tariffs down to a rate of 10% across the board for 90 days, and specified that the temporary reprieve would only last for three months.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprieve
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Verb
Case in point: the July 9 expiration of the 90-day reciprocal tariffs reprieve.
—Jim Edwards, Fortune, 30 June 2025
Businesses and households rush to import goods during tariff reprieves and then lessen their purchasing when the levies are set back in place.
—Ivan Illan, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Noun
Those included a reprieve for her state from new work requirements to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which benefits more than 40 million low-income Americans.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 1 July 2025
That order reduced Trump’s country-specific tariffs down to a rate of 10% across the board for 90 days, and specified that the temporary reprieve would only last for three months.
—Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprieve
Cite this Entry
“Reprieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprieve. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
reprieve
1 of 2 verb
re·prieve
ri-ˈprēv 
reprieved; reprieving
1
: to delay the punishment of (as a condemned prisoner)
2
: to give relief or deliverance to for a time
reprieve
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the act of reprieving : the state of being reprieved
b
: a postponing of a prison or death sentence
2
: a temporary escape (as from pain or trouble)
Legal Definition
reprieve
1 of 2 transitive verb
re·prieve
ri-ˈprēv
reprieved; reprieving
: to delay the punishment of (as a condemned prisoner)
reprieve
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the act of reprieving : the state of being reprieved
b
: a formal temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence especially of death as an act of clemency
2
: an order or warrant of reprieve
Etymology
Transitive verb
alteration of earlier repry to send back (to prison), return to custody, perhaps from Anglo-French repris, past participle of reprendre to take back, from Old French
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