Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Reprieve
Re-prieve
(r?-pr?v′)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Reprieved
(-pr?vd′)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Reprieving
.] 1.
To delay the punishment of; to suspend the execution of sentence on; to give a respite to; to respite;
as, to
. reprieve
a criminal for thirty daysHe
reprieves
the sinnner from time to time. Rogers.
2.
To relieve for a time, or temporarily.
Company, thought it may
reprieve
a man from his melaneholy yet can not secure him from his conscience. South.
Re-prieve′
(r?-pr?v′)
, Noun.
1.
A temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence, especially of a sentence of death.
The morning Sir John Hotham was to die, a
reprieve
was sent to suspend the execution for three days. Clarendon.
2.
Interval of ease or relief; respite.
All that I ask is but a short
ll I forget to love, and learn to grieve.
reprieve
,ll I forget to love, and learn to grieve.
Denham.
Webster 1828 Edition
Reprieve
REPRIE'VE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To respit after sentence of death; to suspend or delay the execution of for a time; as, to reprieve a criminal for thirty days.He reprieves the sinner from time to time.
2.
To grant a respit to; to relieve for a time for any suffering.Company, though it may reprieve a man from his melancholy, yet cannot secure a man from his conscience.
REPRIE'VE
, n.1.
The temporary suspension of the execution of sentence of death on a criminal.2.
Respit; interval of ease or relief.All that I ask is but a short reprieve, till I forgot to love, and learn to grieve.
Definition 2024
reprieve
reprieve
English
Verb
reprieve (third-person singular simple present reprieves, present participle reprieving, simple past and past participle reprieved)
- (transitive) To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution.
- (transitive) To bring relief to someone.
- South
- Company […] may reprieve a man from his melancholy, yet it cannot secure him from his conscience.
- South
- (transitive, obsolete) To take back to prison (in lieu of execution).
Derived terms
Noun
reprieve (plural reprieves)
- The cancellation or postponement of a punishment.
- A document authorizing such an action.
- Relief from pain etc., especially temporary.
- 2015 February 24, Daniel Taylor, “Luis Suárez strikes twice as Barcelona teach Manchester City a lesson”, in The Guardian (London):
- Yet it was not easy, on the balance of play, to be convinced by Pellegrini and his defeated players that the reprieve might somehow be a defining moment over the two legs.
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