reprieve (reprieves plural & 3rd person present) (reprieving present participle) (reprieved past tense & past participle )
1 verb If someone who has been sentenced in a court is reprieved, their punishment is officially delayed or cancelled.
Fourteen people, waiting to be hanged for the murder of a former prime minister, have been reprieved. be V-ed
Reprieve is also a noun, n-var
2 n-count A reprieve is a delay before a very unpleasant or difficult situation which may or may not take place.
It looked as though the college would have to shut, but this week it was given a reprieve.