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
Except, of course, that few people caught up in the legal system have the resources and the reach to pursue a pardon or sentence commutation.
—Bill Hamilton, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2025
More than a dozen Minnesotans are among the nearly 1,600 participants in the Jan. 6 riot who received pardons and commutations from President Donald Trump on his first day back in office.
—Matt Sepic, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2025
Rhodes was serving out an 18-year prison sentence when he was released this week because of Trump’s commutation.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 24 Jan. 2025
Presidents have broad authority to issue pardons and commutations, so long as the crimes are federal offenses and not state ones.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for commutation
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Bill Hamilton, Baltimore Sun, 5 Mar. 2025
More than a dozen Minnesotans are among the nearly 1,600 participants in the Jan. 6 riot who received pardons and commutations from President Donald Trump on his first day back in office.
—Matt Sepic, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2025
Rhodes was serving out an 18-year prison sentence when he was released this week because of Trump’s commutation.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 24 Jan. 2025
Presidents have broad authority to issue pardons and commutations, so long as the crimes are federal offenses and not state ones.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 21 Feb. 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 13 Mar. 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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