am·nes·ty

[am-nuh-stee] noun, plural am·nes·ties, verb, am·nes·tied, am·nes·ty·ing.
noun
1.
a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.
2.
Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially 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; (< Middle French amnestie) < Greek amnēstía oblivion, equivalent to ámnēst(os) forgetting (a- a-6 + mnēs- remember + -tos verbal adjective suffix) + -ia -y3


1. See pardon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
amnesty (ˈæmnɪstɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -ties
1.  a general pardon, esp for offences against a government
2.  a period during which a law is suspended to allow offenders to admit their crime without fear of prosecution
3.  law a pardon granted by the Crown or Executive and effected by statute
 
vb , -ties, -ties, -tying, -tied
4.  (tr) to overlook or forget (an offence)
 
[C16: from Latin amnēstia, from Greek: oblivion, from amnēstos forgetting, from a-1 + -mnēstos, from mnasthai to remember]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

amnesty
"pardon of past offenses," 1570s, from Fr. amnestie "intentional overlooking," from L. amnestia, from Gk. amnestia "oblivion," from a-, privative prefix, "not," + mnestis "remembrance," related to mnaomai "I remember" (see mind (n.)). Amnesty International founded 1961 as Appeal
for Amnesty. The name was changed 1963.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Now the government is working on an amnesty bill aimed at pardoning those
  jailed for political offences over the past few years.
But the development authority is not eager to prosecute, so it announced an
  amnesty program yesterday.
He made a powerful case for reform, but was careful to distance himself from
  the idea of simple amnesty.
But many of these rebels recently reconciled themselves to the southern
  leadership in return for money and promises of amnesty.
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