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39 results for: amnesty

Immigration Amnesty
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Amnesty International
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Dictionary Entries (7 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
am·nes·ty    Audio Help   [am-nuh-stee] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -ties, verb, -tied, -ty·ing.
–noun
1.a general pardon for offenses, esp. political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.
2.Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, esp. to a class of persons as a whole.
3.a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.
–verb (used with object)
4.to grant amnesty to; pardon.
[Origin: 1570–80; (< MF amnestie) < Gk amnéstía oblivion, equiv. to ámnést(os) forgetting (a- a-6 + mnés- remember + -tos verbal adj. suffix) + -ia -y3]

—Synonyms 1. See pardon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Immigration Reform
Discussing illegal immigrants and the need for reform.
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Thesaurus Entries
  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:  forgiveness
Part of Speech:  noun
Definition:  The act or an instance of forgiving.
Synonyms:  absolution, condonation, excuse, pardon, remission
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.


Encyclopedia Articles (29 more entries. View all »)
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia - Cite This Source

amnesty, in law, exemption from prosecution for criminal action. It signifies forgiveness and the forgetting of past actions. Amnesties are usually extended to a group of persons during a period of prolonged disorder or insurrection. The criminals are offered a promise of immunity from prosecution if they will abandon their unlawful activities. After a revolution or civil war the victorious side will often extend amnesty to the losers; e.g., the United States granted a qualified amnesty to the Confederate forces after the Civil War. An amnesty is distinguished from a pardon, which is an act of forgiveness after the criminal has already been convicted.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.
Licensed from Columbia University Press


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