Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A usually short period of rest or relief. synonym: pause.
  • noun Temporary suspension of the execution of a sentence.
  • noun Forbearance or delay, as granted in the payment of a debt.
  • transitive verb To delay (a legal sentence, for example); postpone.
  • transitive verb To grant a respite to (someone).
  • adjective Relating to or being a respite.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Respect; regard. See respect.
  • noun Temporary intermission of labor, or of any process or operation; interval of rest; pause.
  • noun A putting off or postponement of what was fixed; delay; forbearance; prolongation of time, as for the payment of a debt, beyond the fixed or legal time.
  • noun In law: A reprieve; temporary suspension of the execution of a capital offender. See reprieve.
  • noun The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.
  • To delay; postpone; adjourn.
  • To relieve for a time from the execution of a sentence or other punishment or penalty; reprieve.
  • To relieve by a pause or interval of rest.
  • To cease; forbear.
  • Synonyms See reprieve, n.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To delay or postpone; to put off.
  • transitive verb To keep back from execution; to reprieve.
  • transitive verb To relieve by a pause or interval of rest.
  • noun A putting off of that which was appointed; a postponement or delay.
  • noun Temporary intermission of labor, or of any process or operation; interval of rest; pause; delay.
  • noun Temporary suspension of the execution of a capital offender; reprieve.
  • noun The delay of appearance at court granted to a jury beyond the proper term.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A brief interval of rest or relief.
  • noun law A reprieve, especially from a sentence of death.
  • verb transitive To delay or postpone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a pause from doing something (as work)
  • verb postpone the punishment of a convicted criminal, such as an execution
  • noun a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort
  • noun an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
  • noun the act of reprieving; postponing or remitting punishment
  • noun a pause for relaxation

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French respit, from Latin respectus, refuge, looking back; see respect.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Anglo-Norman and Old French respit ("rest")

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Examples

  • Given the prestige of the award, I had hoped the article might provide some respite from the relentlessly cheerful tip culture of the parenting magazines, and fill mothers in on the real problems with nursing.

    The Case Against Breast-Feeding 2009

  • Given the prestige of the award, I had hoped the article might provide some respite from the relentlessly cheerful tip culture of the parenting magazines, and fill mothers in on the real problems with nursing.

    The Case Against Breast-Feeding 2009

  • When everyone has had their turn the flap is opened and there is a slight respite from the heat.

    Archive 2009-10-01 2009

  • Am ipso-nutzo with all these things, too; and, BION, can hardly wait to be at the stage you've reached for, in that process, there resides a kind of comfort, a kind of respite from the endless onslaught.

    She's done it! L. Lee Lowe 2009

  • When everyone has had their turn the flap is opened and there is a slight respite from the heat.

    Tachih Nádáh 2009

  • Given the prestige of the award, I had hoped the article might provide some respite from the relentlessly cheerful tip culture of the parenting magazines, and fill mothers in on the real problems with nursing.

    The Case Against Breast-Feeding 2009

  • It may appear to offer the prospect of short-term respite from economic difficulties.

    The World Doesn't Need More Stimulus Andrew Sentance 2011

  • At this point, Blue Laws exist to give counties and municipalities a respite from the crush of commerce for one day a week.

    Think Progress » Rep. Steve King and Glenn Beck agree: Voting for health reform on Sunday is ‘an affront to God.’ 2010

  • You have such a talent for writing .. it is such a welcome respite from the urban stresses of my life in corporate America. thank you for your excellent tutorial - 3 x a week.

    livre d'or - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • Thank you very much for your help, this has been a great respite from the books,

    Quick Hits – Viking, Batgirl, Batman: Streets of Gotham, and More 2009

Comments

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  • respite is a time of temporary rest

    truce is a time of temporary peace

    August 13, 2007

  • Wordie is my place of respite. Despite the fact that it's not a place.

    August 11, 2009

  • I'll second that.

    August 11, 2009

  • *clicks heels*

    There's no place like wordie.

    August 12, 2009

  • This word was used in the second Narnia movie.

    June 12, 2012

  • You have a photographic memory for dizzyingly vague references that are the love children of Trivial and Oblique. How do you do it?

    June 13, 2012