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.
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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.
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Recent Examples on the Webcleveland, 11 Aug. 2023
The Sackler family owners of Purdue Pharma are a giant step closer to being reprieved.
—Jodi Xu Klein, WSJ, 6 June 2023
After more than 24 years on death row and three reprieves or stays of execution, Glossip is now facing his ninth execution date.
—Brynn Gingras, CNN, 26 Apr. 2023
Stars end stretch in Texas with 10 points from eight games: Most extended homestands in the NHL are reprieves from a long and grueling season.
—Peter Warren, Dallas News, 14 Feb. 2023
For our part, this trip is about fulfilling the European-lifestyle fantasies we’ve long been beguiled by, but also giving ourselves rest and reprieve after the ongoing challenges of the past few years.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2022
It’s Glossip’s fourth stay or reprieve, per his attorneys.
—Dakin Andone, CNN, 25 Aug. 2022
The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny Frank Atwood's request for commutation of sentence, reprieve or pardon.
—Jimmy Jenkins, The Arizona Republic, 24 May 2022
Owning their homes and reaping the benefit of low mortgage payments afforded people like Holt stability and reprieve.
—Eileen Markey, The New Republic, 10 Jan. 2022
Alan Murray, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2023
With summer winding down, the streams are cooling, and that may grant the fish a reprieve.
—Jim Robbins, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Like that of her contemporaries, Diamond’s work had, and still has, a contrarian strain; her wall paintings are simultaneously a reaction to and a reprieve from the commercial.
—Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2023
As her savings evaporated, Russell wrote two handwritten letters to the court explaining her financial situation and asking for a reprieve.
—Casey Tolan, CNN, 8 Sep. 2023
All of North Texas was placed under a heat advisory Tuesday after a string of days with cooler temperatures and rainstorms brought a welcome reprieve from one of Dallas’ most intense summers.
—Lana Ferguson, Dallas News, 5 Sep. 2023
The measures earned the city a temporary reprieve from being included on the UNESCO World Heritage danger list.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 5 Sep. 2023
After the Utes’ drive stalled just past midfield, Whittingham elected to punt, but Utah got a reprieve when Florida got a foolish substitution penalty — two guys on the field wearing the same jersey number.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
But a darker floor color in a natural hue—a moody sage or forest green—can play against the landscape and provide a quiet reprieve from the outside world.
—Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2023
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Verb
Freeze, reprieve: For the third time now, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth Parker asked state regulators on Thursday for a six-month pause on their multiple pending investigations into bribery schemes from FirstEnergy Corp.
—cleveland, 11 Aug. 2023
The Sackler family owners of Purdue Pharma are a giant step closer to being reprieved.
—Jodi Xu Klein, WSJ, 6 June 2023
After more than 24 years on death row and three reprieves or stays of execution, Glossip is now facing his ninth execution date.
—Brynn Gingras, CNN, 26 Apr. 2023
Stars end stretch in Texas with 10 points from eight games: Most extended homestands in the NHL are reprieves from a long and grueling season.
—Peter Warren, Dallas News, 14 Feb. 2023
For our part, this trip is about fulfilling the European-lifestyle fantasies we’ve long been beguiled by, but also giving ourselves rest and reprieve after the ongoing challenges of the past few years.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2022
It’s Glossip’s fourth stay or reprieve, per his attorneys.
—Dakin Andone, CNN, 25 Aug. 2022
The Arizona Board of Executive Clemency voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny Frank Atwood's request for commutation of sentence, reprieve or pardon.
—Jimmy Jenkins, The Arizona Republic, 24 May 2022
Owning their homes and reaping the benefit of low mortgage payments afforded people like Holt stability and reprieve.
—Eileen Markey, The New Republic, 10 Jan. 2022
Noun
The Wall Street Journal Qualcomm gets a reprieve Apple’s decision to keep using Qualcomm’s 5G modem chips until 2026 shows that the iPhone maker’s bold chip design plans have yet to bear fruit.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2023
With summer winding down, the streams are cooling, and that may grant the fish a reprieve.
—Jim Robbins, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Like that of her contemporaries, Diamond’s work had, and still has, a contrarian strain; her wall paintings are simultaneously a reaction to and a reprieve from the commercial.
—Angelica Aboulhosn, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2023
As her savings evaporated, Russell wrote two handwritten letters to the court explaining her financial situation and asking for a reprieve.
—Casey Tolan, CNN, 8 Sep. 2023
All of North Texas was placed under a heat advisory Tuesday after a string of days with cooler temperatures and rainstorms brought a welcome reprieve from one of Dallas’ most intense summers.
—Lana Ferguson, Dallas News, 5 Sep. 2023
The measures earned the city a temporary reprieve from being included on the UNESCO World Heritage danger list.
—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 5 Sep. 2023
After the Utes’ drive stalled just past midfield, Whittingham elected to punt, but Utah got a reprieve when Florida got a foolish substitution penalty — two guys on the field wearing the same jersey number.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
But a darker floor color in a natural hue—a moody sage or forest green—can play against the landscape and provide a quiet reprieve from the outside world.
—Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin, Southern Living, 21 Aug. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reprieve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
probably blend of obsolete repreve to reprove (from Middle English) and obsolete repry to remand, postpone, from Anglo-French repri-, past stem of reprendre to take back
Dictionary Entries Near reprieve
Cite this Entry
“Reprieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprieve. Accessed 23 Sep. 2023.
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Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on reprieve
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for reprieve
Nglish: Translation of reprieve for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of reprieve for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reprieve
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