commutation

noun

com·​mu·​ta·​tion ˌkäm-yə-ˈtā-shən 

-yü-

1

: exchange, trade

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

5

: the action of commutating

Synonyms

• back-and-forth
• barter
• dicker
• exchange
• quid pro quo
• swap
• trade
• trade-off
• truck

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle English commutacion, from Anglo-French, from Latin commutation-, commutatio, from commutare

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing commutation

• commutation ticket

Kids Definition

commutation

noun

com·​mu·​ta·​tion ˌkäm-yə-ˈtā-shən 

1

: exchange entry 1 sense 2, replacement

2

: a reduction of a legal penalty

3

: an act of commuting

4

: the process of reversing the direction of an electric circuit