Definition of "reprieve"

reprieve

/ɹɪˈpɹiːv/

verb
third-person singular simple present reprieves, present participle reprieving, simple past and past participle reprieved
1. (transitive) To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution.
2. (transitive) To bring relief to someone.
  Quotations
  Company […] may reprieve a man from his melancholy, yet it cannot secure him from his conscience.
  1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, 6th edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: […] J[ames] Bettenham, for Jonah Bowyer, […], published 1727
3. (transitive, obsolete) To take back to prison (in lieu of execution).
4. To abandon or postpone plans to close, withdraw or abolish (something).
  Quotations
  At the time of writing the halts have been reprieved due to doubts as to the legality of the withdrawal of services. It is feared that this reprieve may not outlast the summer timetable which, on the section in question, provides only a skeleton of the former service.
  1960 August, L. Hyland, “The Irish Scene”, in Trains Illustrated, page 468
noun
plural reprieves
1. The cancellation or postponement of a punishment.
2. A document authorizing such an action.
3. Relief from pain etc., especially temporary.
  Quotations
  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.
  2015 February 24, Daniel Taylor, “Luis Suárez strikes twice as Barcelona teach Manchester City a lesson”, in The Guardian (London)‎
4. A cancellation or postponement of a proposed event undesired by many.
  Quotations
  At the time of writing the halts have been reprieved due to doubts as to the legality of the withdrawal of services. It is feared that this reprieve may not outlast the summer timetable which, on the section in question, provides only a skeleton of the former service.
  1960 August, L. Hyland, “The Irish Scene”, in Trains Illustrated, page 468
  And it said there was no reprieve for 435 stations already approved for closure before the report appeared.
  2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 53

Definition of "reprieve"

reprieve

verb

Quotations

Quotations

noun

Quotations

Quotations