as in bail
law
a legal promise made by someone before a court of law that must be kept to avoid being punished
After his arraignment, the suspect was released on his own recognizance.
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Recent Examples of recognizance
He was arrested after the shooting and booked at Santa Rita Jail but was released Wednesday on his own recognizance.
—
Harry Harris, Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2026
Court records reviewed by PEOPLE showed an order for his release on his own recognizance was also filed that day.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Following arraignment in Lowell Juvenile Court, the teen defendants were released on personal recognizance under standard conditions.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2026
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski granted the state's request for a no-contact order and set a personal recognizance bond for $1,000.
—April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recognizance
Harry Harris, Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2026
Court records reviewed by PEOPLE showed an order for his release on his own recognizance was also filed that day.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 Jan. 2026
Following arraignment in Lowell Juvenile Court, the teen defendants were released on personal recognizance under standard conditions.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2026
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski granted the state's request for a no-contact order and set a personal recognizance bond for $1,000.
—April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for recognizance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recognizance
bail
Noun
-
He's being held on a $100,000 bail.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The county sheriff followed procedure and contacted ICE when the subject posted bail, but ICE agents were too busy wreaking havoc in the Twin Cities to do their actual job and pick the prisoner up.—
Karen Cortes,
NBC news,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Recognizance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recognizance. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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