reprieve
/ɹɪˈpɹiːv/
"reprieve" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“reprieve” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,822 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #33,822
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | reprieve |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈpɹiːv/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #33,822 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “reprieve” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for reprieve is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈpɹiːv/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,822 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for reprieve, with forms such as "erprieve", "repireve", and "repprieve". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "reprise", "retrieve", "retriever", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: First use appears c. 1513 in the writings of Robert Fabyan. In the sense of “to take back to prison”, from Middle English repryen (“to remand, detain”) (1494), possibly from Middle French repris, in the form of reprendre (“take back”); a cognate to reprise.… The correct English form is reprieve, spelled R-E-P-R-I-E-V-E.
Definition
- 1To cancel or postpone the punishment of someone, especially an execution.
- 2To bring relief to someone.
- 3To take back to prison (in lieu of execution).
- 4To abandon or postpone plans to close, withdraw or abolish (something).
Etymology
First use appears c. 1513 in the writings of Robert Fabyan. In the sense of “to take back to prison”, from Middle English repryen (“to remand, detain”) (1494), possibly from Middle French repris, in the form of reprendre (“take back”); a cognate to reprise. The sense has become generalized, but does retain connotations of punishment and execution. The noun's first use appears c. 1592.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erprieve,repireve,repprieve,repreive,reprieev,reprievve,reprivee,reprrieve,rerpieve,rperieve,rreprieve
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reprieve - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “reprieve”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-P-R-I-E-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈpɹiːv/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “reprise” - see the side-by-side comparison. reprieve vs reprise
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.