Commute vs. Pardon — What's the Difference?

To commute means to travel regularly over some distance, as from a suburb into a city and back.

To pardon means to release an individual from any further punishment for a crime.

Commute in law means to reduce a judicial sentence to one less severe.

Pardon is used to ask for forgiveness for a slight or faux pas.

To travel as a commuter

A pardon is the act of forgiving someone for an offense or crime.

To make substitution or exchange.

A pardon can also refer to the Christian sacrament of absolution.

To serve as a substitute.

A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction.Pardons can be granted in many countries when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have "paid their debt to society", or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them.

To pay in gross, usually at a reduced rate, rather than in individual payments.

The action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offence

Mathematics & Logic To satisfy a commutative property. If a × b = b × a, then a commutes with b, regardless of whether the operation indicated by × is commutative.

Forgive or excuse (a person, error, or offence)

To substitute (one thing for another); exchange.

A request to a speaker to repeat something because one did not hear or understand it

To change (a penalty, debt, or payment) to a less severe one.

To release (a person) from punishment or disfavor for wrongdoing or a fault

An act or instance of commuting, especially the trip made by a commuter

To allow (an offense or fault) to pass without punishment or disfavor.

To exchange substantially; to abate but not abolish completely, a penalty, obligation, or payment in return for a great, single thing or an aggregate; to cash in; to lessen

To make courteous allowance for; excuse

To pay, or arrange to pay, in advance, in a lump sum instead of part by part.

The act of pardoning.

To reduce the sentence previously given for a criminal offense.

Exemption of a convicted person from the penalties of an offense or crime by the power of the executor of the laws.

To pay out the lumpsum present value of an annuity, instead of paying in instalments; to cash in; to encash

An official document or warrant declaring such an exemption.

To obtain or bargain for exemption or substitution;

Allowance or forgiveness for an offense or a discourtesy

Of an operation, to be commutative, i.e. to have the property that changing the order of the operands does not change the result.

Roman Catholic Church An indulgence.

To regularly travel from one's home to one's workplace or school, or vice versa.

Forgiveness for an offence.

To regularly travel from one place to another using public transport.

(legal) An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.

(intransitive) To journey, to make a journey

(transitive) To forgive (a person).

A regular journey between two places, typically home and work.

(transitive) To refrain from exacting as a penalty.

The route, time or distance of that journey.

To grant an official pardon for a crime.

To exchange; to put or substitute something else in place of, as a smaller penalty, obligation, or payment, for a greater, or a single thing for an aggregate; hence, to lessen; to diminish; as, to commute a sentence of death to one of imprisonment for life; to commute tithes; to commute charges for fares.

Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.

To obtain or bargain for exemption or substitution; to effect a commutation.

The act of pardoning; forgiveness, as of an offender, or of an offense; release from penalty; remission of punishment; absolution.

To pay, or arrange to pay, in gross instead of part by part; as, to commute for a year's travel over a route.

An official warrant of remission of penalty.

To travel regularly from a place of residence to another place, such as where one's daily work is performed. Often, such travel is performed between a suburb and a nearby city; as, to commute to work.

The state of being forgiven.

Transpose and remain equal in value;

A release, by a sovereign, or officer having jurisdiction, from the penalties of an offense, being distinguished from amnesty, which is a general obliteration and canceling of a particular line of past offenses.

Travel back and forth regularly, as between one's place of work and home

To absolve from the consequences of a fault or the punishment of crime; to free from penalty; - applied to the offender.

Change the order or arrangement of;

To remit the penalty of; to suffer to pass without punishment; to forgive; - applied to offenses.

Exchange a penalty for a less severe one

To refrain from exacting as a penalty.

Exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category;

To give leave (of departure) to.

To commute can also mean to exchange or substitute.

The act of excusing a mistake or offense

In mathematics, to commute means for two elements to give the same result, regardless of order.

A warrant granting release from punishment for an offense

Commute can refer to making a journey that is repeated or regular.

The formal act of liberating someone

Accept an excuse for;

Grant a pardon to;

In informal use, pardon can express disbelief or ask for repetition.

In a legal context, yes, it specifically refers to sentence reduction.

No, an acquittal is a legal judgment of not guilty, while a pardon is forgiveness for a convicted crime.

Yes, theoretically a sentence can be commuted multiple times.

No, once a sentence is commuted, it cannot be reversed.

It can, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction.

Generally, there are specific eligibility requirements for applying for a pardon.

No, it's a privilege granted by the authorities.

Yes, conditions can be placed on the individual when commuting a sentence.

In the U.S., pardons are typically granted by the president, but governors can also grant them for state offenses.

Eligibility for a pardon varies and usually involves factors like time since conviction and behavior.

Yes, they are generally a matter of public record.

Yes, pardons can be and have been granted posthumously.

No, civil liabilities typically remain despite a criminal pardon.

Legally, there's no limit, but it's rare for individuals to receive multiple pardons.

It usually involves a review by a parole board or a recommendation to the executive authority.