1
as in pause
a temporary halt in an activity or condition
The pool offered a welcome reprieve from the heat.
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2
as in parole
law
a temporary release from the obligation to serve punishment for a crime
The judge ordered a reprieve of the execution so the accused would have time to appeal the decision.
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1
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of reprieve
Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 29 Oct. 2025
The 1988 retrial offered no reprieve from his situation.
—Maryclaire Dale, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 July 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
See All Example Sentences for reprieve
Noun
Below, a brief moment of reprieve from all the other holiday sale blasts and the tantalizing pages of deals on Amazon for some light aromatherapy.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 29 Oct. 2025
The 1988 retrial offered no reprieve from his situation.
—Maryclaire Dale, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
There have been more than enough chances and reprieve given.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 24 July 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
See All Example Sentences for reprieve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reprieve
Noun
-
Tampa Bay’s defeat to New England gave the exec some pause on the Buccaneers, while the injury situation in San Francisco seems too much to overcome.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
-
After a Boston appeals court ruled late Friday to not immediately intervene, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued a ruling pausing the requirement to distribute full SNAP payments until the appeals court rules on whether to issue a more lasting pause, the Associated Press said.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
His wife and daughters were already in the country because Giménez Sánchez’s sister had sponsored them under now-defunct humanitarian parole processes for Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
He was sentenced in 2012 to life in prison with the possibility of parole.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Trump pardoned or ordered the dismissal of charges for all of them.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Bush commuted Libby’s 30-month prison sentence but refused Cheney’s request to pardon him.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Earlier this year the Department of Transportation offered bonuses to retirement aged controllers to stay on the job longer to help relieve the existing shortage, but the shutdown seems to be working against that effort.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
-
This past weekend, the FAA reported staffing shortages at dozens of facilities, prompting the agency to slow air traffic to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers who did show up to work.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The sudden sting, the constant urge to run to the bathroom and the interruptions to work or intimacy can feel both embarrassing and unsettling.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
-
The company confirmed with the FAA that international flights will continue without interruption.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Several pardons and commutations issued by former President Joe Biden sparked controversy.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
-
More than 13,000 people have applied for federal clemency since 2021, yet only a few hundred have received pardons or commutations.—
Khalil Cumberbatch,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across six vinyl variants (including one signed), four CD variants (one signed) and a standard digital download album (all with the same tracklist).—
Keith Caulfield,
Billboard,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Spirits Spirits are disembodied beings who are occasionally called upon to aid specific humans (usually witches), but can sometimes become harmful.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Minnesota led 71-54 at the halftime break.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Hoover settled down as the game wore on and led TCU on a scoring drive after the halftime break.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Reprieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reprieve. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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