amnesty

1 of 2

noun

am·nes·ty ˈam-nə-stē

plural amnesties

Synonyms of amnesty next

: the act of an authority (such as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals

The government granted amnesty to all political prisoners.

a general amnesty

amnesty

2 of 2

verb

amnestied; amnestying

transitive verb

: to grant amnesty to : to pardon (someone) officially often before a trial or conviction

Only last Thursday Mr. Clinton told the U.S. that the generals were responsible for the killings … Now, they are to be amnestied and allowed to remain in Haiti if they so wish.—

A. M. Rosenthal

Traditionally, the incoming president amnesties all outstanding driving offences: during the months before an election people park even more selfishly than usual and drive at unbelievable speeds, knowing if they're caught, they'll be amnestied.—

Richard Horton

Examples of amnesty in a Sentence

Noun The government gave amnesty to all political prisoners. Illegal immigrants who came into the country before 1982 were granted amnesty.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

His party had first been expected to file a draft bill that would grant amnesty to hundreds of Catalan activists facing criminal charges over a failed 2017 independence attempt. —

TIME, 13 Nov. 2023 Around 40,000 Spaniards protested in Madrid on Sunday against Mr. Sanchez’s possible plans to grant an amnesty to separatists. —

Charlie Devereux, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Sep. 2023 The Socialist prime minister won a parliamentary vote only after promising amnesty to Catalan separatists, enraging conservatives. —

Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023 Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Spain on Sunday to protest the planned amnesty. —

TIME, 13 Nov. 2023 But, in 1872, Congress granted amnesty to those who aided and abetted the Confederacy. —

Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, 9 Nov. 2023 Now, though, Sánchez has said amnesty is important for national healing. —

Beatriz Ríos, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 In March, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, an influential trade organization, called on the FAA to declare an amnesty for those swept up in the review. —

Lisa Rein and Craig Whitlock, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Aug. 2023 Bridgeway has brokered a deal for Uganda to take back its citizens as part of a long-running government amnesty program. —

Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2023

Verb

People on my side of the aisle are focused on there’s a huge immigration bill tucked into this reconciliation bill that would amnesty about eight million people and no one's talking about it. —

NBC News, 19 Sep. 2021 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'amnesty.' 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

Noun

borrowed from Latin amnēstia, borrowed from Greek amnēstía "forgetfulness, oblivion, deliberate overlooking of past offenses," from amnēstós "forgotten, forgetful" (from a- a- entry 2 + mnēstós "memorable," verbal adjective of mnáomai, mnâsthai "to be mindful of" and mimnḗskomai, mimnḗskesthai "to call to mind, remember") + -ia -y entry 2 — more at mind entry 1