amnesty

The word “amnesty” means an official pardon granted by a government, especially to a group of people who committed a political offense. In plain terms, an official pardon, usually offered to a whole group at once rather than one person.

“Amnesty” is pronounced AM-nih-stee (/ˈæm.nɪ.sti/ in IPA).

Here is “amnesty” used in a sentence: “The government offered amnesty to rebels who surrendered their weapons.”

Depending on how it is used, “amnesty” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “amnesty” comes from Greek. From Greek amnestia, "forgetfulness" — the same root that gives us "amnesia"; an amnesty is a formal decision to officially forget an offense.

“Amnesty” is an uncommon word in modern English.

“Amnesty” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an official pardon granted by a government, especially to a group of people who committed a political offense.

An amnesty is an official pardon granted by a government, typically to a whole group of people who committed a political offense, while a pardon more commonly refers to forgiveness granted to a single individual for a specific crime. Amnesty also often erases the legal record of the offense, whereas a pardon may simply excuse punishment without erasing the conviction.

As a verb, "to amnesty" someone means to officially grant them a pardon, as in "the government voted to amnesty the prisoners." This verb use is less common than the noun form but follows the same sense of formal, government-granted forgiveness.