remission

/riˈmɪʃɪn/

/riˈmɪʃən/

Other forms: remissions

Remission refers to a stage of lesser intensity, when something subsides or improves. Remission is usually a good thing — like when your cancer is in remission, it means that it is manageable and not getting any worse.

Remission comes from the Latin remissionem, meaning "relaxation; a sending back." If something difficult lets up, you'll be able to relax a little. For example, if you are being pelted non-stop during a dodgeball game, you'd hope for a remission so you'd have a minute to take a breath and find your glasses. Another meaning of the noun remission is a payment. Your college tuition remission must be taken care of before you start classes.

Definitions of remission

1. noun

   an abatement in intensity or degree (as in the manifestations of a disease)
   “his cancer is in remission”

   synonyms: remittal, subsidence

   types:

   resolution

   the subsidence of swelling or other signs of inflammation (especially in a lung)

   type of:

   abatement, hiatus, reprieve, respite, suspension

   an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
2. noun

   a payment of money sent to a person in another place
   synonyms: remitment, remittal, remittance

   type of:

   payment

   a sum of money paid or a claim discharged
3. noun

   the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance
   synonyms: absolution, remission of sin, remittal

   types:

   indulgence

   the remission by the pope of the temporal punishment in purgatory that is still due for sins even after absolution

   type of:

   redemption, salvation

   (theology) the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil
4. noun

   (law) the act of remitting (especially the referral of a law case to another court)
   synonyms: remit, remitment

   type of:

   referral

   the act of referring (as forwarding an applicant for employment or referring a matter to an appropriate agency)