commutation
noun
com·mu·ta·tion
ˌkäm-yə-ˈtā-shən 
-yü-
2
: replacement
specifically
: a substitution of one form of payment or charge for another
a commutation by money payment for the exacted service
3
: a change of a legal penalty or punishment to a lesser one
commutation of a death sentence
4
: an act or process of commuting
… a ridge of hills makes daily commutation to San Francisco arduous.—
The New York Times
The New York Times5
: the action of commutating
Synonyms
Examples of commutation in a Sentence
He appealed for a commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment.
an international commutation of food for oil
Recent Examples on the Web
Under the Golden State’s constitution, a governor has near unlimited power to grant clemency, which includes commutations of sentence and pardons.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2024
Executive clemency can be a pardon, which voids a person’s federal criminal conviction, or commutation, which terminates any prison or jail sentence.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2024
The district attorney adds that his office has communicated with several family members of Kitty and Jose Menendez and all family members except one, Kitty Menendez’s brother, support commutation.
—Matthew J. Friedman, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
By Samantha Riedel September 19, 2024 One of the men who murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998 was denied a commutation of his sentence this week, the Wyoming Board of Parole has confirmed.
—Samantha Riedel, Them, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for commutation 
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Dominic Patten, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2024
Executive clemency can be a pardon, which voids a person’s federal criminal conviction, or commutation, which terminates any prison or jail sentence.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2024
The district attorney adds that his office has communicated with several family members of Kitty and Jose Menendez and all family members except one, Kitty Menendez’s brother, support commutation.
—Matthew J. Friedman, CNN, 31 Oct. 2024
By Samantha Riedel September 19, 2024 One of the men who murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998 was denied a commutation of his sentence this week, the Wyoming Board of Parole has confirmed.
—Samantha Riedel, Them, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for commutation
Dictionary Entries Near commutation
Cite this Entry
“Commutation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commutation. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
commutation
noun
com·mu·ta·tion
ˌkäm-yə-ˈtā-shən
2
: a reduction of a legal penalty
3
: an act of commuting
4
: the process of reversing the direction of an electric circuit
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