with obj.
1- cancel or postpone the punishment of (someone, especially someone condemned to death)取消（或缓期执行）对…的刑罚（尤指死刑）：
under the new regime, prisoners under sentence of death were reprieved.
在新的制度下, 被判死刑的罪犯被缓期执行。
1.1
- abandon or postpone plans to close or put an end to (something)放弃或推迟（关闭或结束的）计划：
the threatened pits could be reprieved.
关闭有危险矿井的计划可能推迟。
1
- a cancellation or postponement of a punishment赦免, 缓刑。
1.1
- a temporary escape from an undesirable fate or unpleasant situation暂时解救, 暂时缓解：
a mother who faced eviction has been given a reprieve.
面临被逐出住处的母亲已获暂时解救。
词源
late 15th cent. （as the past participle repryed）： from Anglo-Norman French repris, past participle of reprendre, from Latin re- 'back' + prehendere 'seize'. The insertion of -v- （16th cent.） remains unexplained. Sense development has undergone a reversal, from the early meaning 'send back to prison', via 'postpone (a legal process)', to the current sense 'rescue from impending punishment'.