ENGLISH
REFERENCE

amnesty

n. · v.
US //ˈæmnəsti// UK //ˈæmnəsti// amnesty
  1. 1 legal pardon (n.)
    C1 Advanced Formal Law

    a formal decision by a government to forgive a group of people for a crime, often a political one.

    a sovereign act of oblivion or a general pardon granted to a group for past offences, typically political in nature.

    Example

    The new government granted amnesty to all political prisoners after the revolution.

    Example

    The president issued a general amnesty for those involved in the uprising, seeking to foster national reconciliation after years of civil strife.
  2. 2 period to return items (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a set time when you can return illegal or stolen items to the authorities without being punished.

    a designated period during which individuals may surrender illegal or prohibited items to authorities without fear of prosecution.

    Example

    The police are holding a knife amnesty this week to reduce street violence.

    Example

    During the two-week firearms amnesty, citizens handed in hundreds of unregistered weapons at local police stations without facing legal consequences.
    • grace period
  3. 3 to grant a pardon (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Formal Law

    to officially forgive a group of people for a crime.

    to grant a formal pardon to a collective group of individuals. Transitive — takes a direct object.

    Example

    The state decided to amnesty the protesters to help keep the peace.

    Example

    The administration faced significant public backlash after deciding to amnesty several high-ranking officials accused of financial corruption.
Origin

Borrowed from Middle French amnestie (Modern French amnistie), a borrowing from Latin amnestia, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία (amnēstía).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026