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

January 6 defendants who received commutations from President Donald Trump are free to visit the U.S. Capitol without receiving prior permission, a federal judge ruled Monday. —Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 27 Jan. 2025

Days after receiving commutation, Rhodes and other Jan. 6 defendants appeared on Capitol Hill. —Robert Legare, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2025

However, neither the commutation process nor the judicial review process in Connecticut guarantees a hearing. —Eddie Deleon, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2025

Trump spent his first hours in office issuing mass clemencies, commutations, and pardons for these former rioters. —Jenny Goldsberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 26 Jan. 2025

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