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
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
Her later commutation was a remarkable benefit for a mostly unknown federal prisoner on the same day that Trump pardoned political allies such as Steven Bannon and celebrities such as Lil Wayne.
—Alex Riggins, Mercury News, 27 Apr. 2025
Executive clemency may take several forms, including pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, and reprieve.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Flashback: Caldwell was among about a dozen people who received a sentence commutation from Trump in January as part of his executive order pardoning most Jan. 6 defendants.
—Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
This marks the first commutation of a death sentence in the state since 1999.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commutation
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Alex Riggins, Mercury News, 27 Apr. 2025
Executive clemency may take several forms, including pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, and reprieve.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
Flashback: Caldwell was among about a dozen people who received a sentence commutation from Trump in January as part of his executive order pardoning most Jan. 6 defendants.
—Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 31 Mar. 2025
This marks the first commutation of a death sentence in the state since 1999.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commutation
Cite this Entry
“Commutation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commutation. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
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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