parole

1 of 2

noun

pa·​role pə-ˈrōl How to pronounce parole (audio)
1
: a promise made with or confirmed by a pledge of one's honor
especially : the promise of a prisoner of war to fulfill stated conditions in consideration of his release
2
: a watchword given only to officers of the guard and of the day
3
: a conditional release of a prisoner serving an indeterminate or unexpired sentence
4
a
: language viewed as a specific individual usage : performance
b
: a linguistic act compare langue
parole adjective

parole

2 of 2

verb

paroled; paroling

transitive verb

: to release (a prisoner) on parole

Examples of parole in a Sentence

Noun The prisoner will be eligible for parole after three years. She robbed a bank while out on parole. The prisoner was released on parole.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The state youth prison system released a teenager on parole who later allegedly killed two people in Toledo and then himself in Cincinnati, but a former prison superintendent says the tragedies could've been avoided. Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 18 Mar. 2024 However, he was denied parole several times after not attending any of the hearings. Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 16 Mar. 2024 Their son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in September after pleading guilty to 24 charges, including murder and terrorism. Kerry Breen, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024 Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to the murders and other charges, including his injuring seven other people, and is serving life in prison without parole. Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press, 15 Mar. 2024 He was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024 Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey A. Wagner went beyond that recommendation with his sentence, deciding against the possibility of parole after warning the community would not tolerate domestic violence. Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2024 Bills were passed to lengthen sentences for some offenses, to strictly limit access to parole, to prosecute 17-year-olds charged with any crime as adults and to allow methods of execution beyond lethal injection. Rick Rojas, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 On Monday Smith received an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, per prosecutors. Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024
Verb
Late last month, a judge in Los Angeles declared Mr. Coleman an innocent man, a few weeks after he was paroled. Tim Arango, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Authorities expanded deportation processing, paroling more migrants through legal avenues and struck agreements with Mexico to accept the return of non-Mexican citizens. Quinn Owen, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2023 Xavier Suarez wrote that the family ultimately left Cuba due to a combination of poor job prospects and fear of political persecution — foreshadowing reasons given by thousands of asylum-seekers now being paroled into the country each week from the southern border. Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024 The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the homeland security secretary to use their discretion to parole any noncitizen applying for admission into the United States temporarily for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Joe Heim, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024 In the 1930s, Bennett created the Ford Service Department, an armed squad of ex-cops, paroled convicts, gangsters and former athletes, to spy on employees and disrupt union organizers. Jack Kresnak, Detroit Free Press, 28 Jan. 2024 Republicans are also demanding restrictions on parole: an authority that allows presidents to admit migrants facing humanitarian crisis into the country on an emergency basis, which Biden has paroled refugees fleeing Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela, and other countries. TIME, 9 Jan. 2024 Steve Grogan, another Manson family member convicted in Shea's murder, was paroled in 1985 after leading investigators to the victim's remains. Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 2 Feb. 2024 Warren was paroled in 2007 while Smokes was released in 2011. Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 1 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'parole.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from French, "speech, expression in words, word, promise," going back to Old French, going back to Gallo-Romance *paraula, going back to Late Latin parabola "comparison, allegory, proverb, discourse, speech"; (sense 4) after the use of parole in this sense by Ferdinand de saussure in Cours de linguistique générale (1916) — more at parable

Verb

derivative of parole entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1776, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of parole was in 1531

Dictionary Entries Near parole

Cite this Entry

“Parole.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parole. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

parole

1 of 2 noun
pa·​role pə-ˈrōl How to pronounce parole (audio)
: an early release of a prisoner who meets specified requirements

parole

2 of 2 verb
paroled; paroling
: to release on parole
parolee
pə-ˌrō-ˈlē
noun

Medical Definition

parole

noun
pa·​role pə-ˈrōl How to pronounce parole (audio)
: a conditional release given to a psychiatric patient in a hospital before discharge enabling the patient to visit freely various designated areas on the hospital grounds or beyond its limits
parolable adjective
parole transitive verb
paroled; paroling

Legal Definition

parole

noun
pa·​role pə-ˈrōl How to pronounce parole (audio)
: a conditional release of a prisoner who has served part of a sentence and who remains under the control of and in the legal custody of a parole authority compare probation
Etymology

Noun

Old French, speech, word, prisoner's word of honor to fulfill stated conditions, from Late Latin parabola speech, parable, from Greek parabolē comparison

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!