amnesty
pronunciation
How to pronounce amnesty in British English:
UK [ˈæmnəsti]
How to pronounce amnesty in American English:
US [ˈæmnɪsti]
-
- Noun:
- a period during which offenders are exempt from punishment
- a warrant granting release from punishment for an offense
- the formal act of liberating someone
-
- Verb:
- grant a pardon to (a group of people)
Word Origin
- amnesty (n.)
- "pardon of past offenses," 1570s, from French amnestie "intentional overlooking," from Latin amnestia, from Greek amnestia "forgetfulness (of wrong); an amnesty," from a-, privative prefix, "not" (see a- (3)), + mnestis "remembrance," related to mnaomai "I remember" (see mind (n.)). As a verb, from 1809. Amnesty International founded 1961 as Appeal for Amnesty. The name was changed 1963.
Example
- 1. Not that old-style amnesty was soft on the west .
- 2. To demand the assad family 's departure is counter-productive unless an amnesty is offered .
- 3. Greens countered that an amnesty would fuel future deforestation .
- 4. The new legislature could have passed a general amnesty and let bygones be bygones , tutu told the audience .
- 5. Amnesty has never been allowed into the country .