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   re·prieve

   /rəˈprēv/

   verb

   • 1. cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, especially someone condemned to death): "under the new regime, prisoners under sentence of death were reprieved" Similar grant a stay of execution tocancel/postpone/commute/remit someone's punishmentpardonspareacquitgrant an amnesty toamnestyinformal:let offlet off the hookarchaic:respiteOpposite chargepunish
   • ▪ abandon or postpone plans to close or put an end to (something): "the threatened pits could be reprieved" Similar saverescuegrant a stay of execution togive a respite toinformal:take off the hit list

   noun

   • 1. a cancellation or postponement of a punishment: "he accepted the death sentence and refused to appeal for a reprieve"
   • ▪ a temporary escape from an undesirable fate or unpleasant situation: "a mother who faced eviction has been given a reprieve"

   Word Origin late 15th century (as the past participle repryed): from Anglo-Norman French repris, past participle of reprendre, from Latin re- ‘back’ + prehendere ‘seize’. The insertion of -v- (16th century) remains unexplained. Sense development has undergone a reversal, from the early meaning ‘send back to prison’, via ‘postpone a legal process’, to the current sense ‘rescue from impending punishment’.

   Scrabble Points: 13

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • P

     3

   • R

     1

   • I

     1

   • E

     1

   • V

     4

   • E

     1

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