reprieve

/rəˈpriv/

/rəˈpriv/

Other forms: reprieved; reprieves; reprieving

A reprieve is a break in or cancellation of a painful or otherwise lousy situation. If you're being tortured, a reprieve is a break from whatever's tormenting you.

For some, a night at the opera is a night of punishing boredom during which the only reprieve is the intermission. For others, it's baseball that feels like torture. The seventh-inning stretch is the only reprieve from a night of endless waiting. Often, you'll hear reprieve used when a court or governor decides not to execute a prisoner. That prisoner is given a reprieve and will be allowed to live. He probably won't get a reprieve from prison, though, unless he's found innocent.

Definitions of reprieve

1. verb

   postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution
   synonyms: respite

   type of:

   defer, hold over, postpone, prorogue, put off, put over, remit, set back, shelve, table

   hold back to a later time
2. noun

   the act of reprieving; postponing or remitting punishment
   synonyms: respite

   type of:

   clemency, mercifulness, mercy

   leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
3. noun

   a warrant granting postponement (usually to postpone the execution of the death sentence)
   type of:

   warrant

   a writ from a court commanding police to perform specified acts
4. verb

   relieve temporarily
   type of:

   deliver, rescue

   free from harm or evil
5. noun

   a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort
   synonyms: respite

   type of:

   ease, relief

   the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress)
6. noun

   an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
   synonyms: abatement, hiatus, respite, suspension

   types:

   defervescence

   abatement of a fever as indicated by a reduction in body temperature

   remission, remittal, subsidence

   an abatement in intensity or degree (as in the manifestations of a disease)

   resolution

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

   type of:

   break

   some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity