verb
commute
To replace something with another form or equivalent.
The governor commutes the prisoner's death sentence to life imprisonment.
Etymology
The Latin verb already expresses exchanging or changing one thing for another. This sense preserves that replacement, especially when the substitute has an equivalent role or value.
More examples
- The president commuted her sentence from twenty years to ten.
- Commuting a sentence does not erase the conviction.
- She chooses to commute her pension into a lump sum.
Forms
commute · commutes · commuted · commuting
commutation noun — replacement with a lesser punishment or equivalent