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
Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
The Board also addressed an eleventh hour financial reprieve from a donor, which will be able to keep Roycemore open through the end of the academic year.
—Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2026
Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
Aside from the offerings of the market itself, the square is also lined with many shops, boutiques, and department stores that provide plenty of options for visitors, as well as indoor reprieves from the cold.
—Jasmine Ting, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprieve
Noun
About 250 people in Killingworth — the largest group to file a complaint with a fair rent commission in recent history — will get a one-year reprieve from increases after the town’s committee rejected their landowner’s rent adjustment plan.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026
The Board also addressed an eleventh hour financial reprieve from a donor, which will be able to keep Roycemore open through the end of the academic year.
—Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2026
Verb
In a gift to pharma, the bill broadened reprieves to drugs that treat rare conditions.
—Lisa Jarvis, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
Aside from the offerings of the market itself, the square is also lined with many shops, boutiques, and department stores that provide plenty of options for visitors, as well as indoor reprieves from the cold.
—Jasmine Ting, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reprieve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reprieve
Noun
-
Chapman ended up getting turned around and tagged out, but his pause allowed Devers to score.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
9 May 2026
-
Bass, after a brief pause, also said yes.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
After striking a plea deal, Sneed received a sentence of life in prison without parole, while Glossip was sentenced to death.—
Nicole Acosta,
PEOPLE,
14 May 2026
-
On May 7, Ukiah police and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation contacted Purtill near his home and arrested him on suspicion of violating the conditions of his parole.—
Jason Green,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
He was detained in connection with a decades-old burglary charge from 1997, which was later pardoned in 2010, advocates said.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
11 May 2026
-
In early 2024, a journalist reported that, after children were abused in a state-run facility, people within Fidesz had quietly pardoned an accomplice.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
Verb
-
Alexa told me she was relieved by the outcome.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
-
Several unhoused people are arrested each month for relieving themselves in public.—
Michael Perkins,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Assayas is, above all, an urbane filmmaker, with no room for discourse so crude or interruption so abrupt as to let the winds of history waft through his film unperfumed.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
The interruption occurred Wednesday, and pressure has since been restored, according to an alert from the city.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Parson announced the commutation in the twilight of his term on the Friday afternoon before the Christmas holiday week in 2024.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Trump previously gave these members of extremist groups commutations instead of full pardons.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
British paratroopers reached a remote volcanic island with medics and supplies to aid a former cruise ship passenger who may have contracted hantavirus.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
-
That community aided in the acquisition of land and the 2012 construction of a barrier-free, accessible home for the Porters in west Omaha.—
Mitch Sherman,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
Clave Especial is finally taking a break.—
Andrea Flores,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
Gonzalez Rogers thanked the jurors for their contributions, and then everyone filed out for a break.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reprieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reprieve. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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