remission
C1Formal; common in medical, legal, and financial contexts.
Definition
Meaning
A temporary reduction in the severity of a disease or its symptoms.
Forgiveness or cancellation of a debt, penalty, or legal obligation; also, a formal pardon for a crime.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
In medicine, remission implies a subsiding or lessening but does not necessarily mean a cure. In law/finance, it denotes an official cancellation or pardoning. The core medical meaning is most frequent.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Spelling and usage are identical. No significant lexical or grammatical differences.
Connotations
Identical strong association with serious illness (especially cancer) in both varieties.
Frequency
Slightly higher frequency in American English due to greater public discourse around healthcare.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
enter into remissiongo into remissionbe in remissiongrant a remission of [something]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A remission of sins”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare; used for 'tax remission' or 'debt remission' in formal finance.
Academic
Common in medical and theological literature.
Everyday
Primarily used when discussing serious illness, e.g., 'Her cancer is in remission.'
Technical
In medicine: 'The patient shows no evidence of disease (NED) and is in complete remission.' In law: 'The judge ordered a remission of the fine.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The court may remit the sentence under exceptional circumstances.
- Please remit the payment to our London office.
American English
- The governor has the power to remit fines.
- Please remit payment to our New York office.
adverb
British English
- This is not a remissively applied rule.
- He acted remissively in his duties. (rare)
American English
- The penalty was applied, not remissively. (rare)
- The judge looked remissively upon the plea. (rare)
adjective
British English
- The remitted payment was received.
- He was granted a remitted sentence.
American English
- The remitted funds have been processed.
- She applied for remitted tuition fees.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The doctor said his illness is in remission.
- They hoped for a remission of the debt.
- After a year of treatment, she achieved complete remission.
- The charity campaigned for the remission of student loan debt.
- The study focused on patients who maintained long-term remission without further medication.
- The treaty included a clause for the remission of all wartime reparations.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: REduction of the illMISSION of a disease. Or, a MISSION to forgive (remit) a debt or sin.
Conceptual Metaphor
DISEASE IS AN OPPONENT (beating it into remission); DEBT/SIN IS A BURDEN (having it remitted/removed).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'ремиссия' (correct for medicine). Do not use for 'прощение' (forgiveness in personal sense) or 'отсрочка' (postponement). The legal/financial sense is 'освобождение от уплаты', 'снятие'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'remission' to mean 'recovery' (it's not a cure). Confusing 'remission' with 'remittance' (a payment). Using it for minor illness (it's for serious/chronic conditions).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'remission' LEAST likely to be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Remission means the signs and symptoms are reduced or undetectable, but the disease may still be present and could return (relapse).
Yes, in formal contexts. 'Debt remission' or 'tax remission' means the cancellation or forgiveness of the amount owed.
The verb is 'to remit'. It has two main meanings: 1) to send payment, 2) to cancel or refrain from inflicting (a debt, punishment, etc.).
It is not an everyday word for general conversation. It is common, however, in discussions about serious illnesses like cancer, and in legal/financial news.
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