parole

Syllables: pa·role/pəˈɹəʊl/US/pəˈɹoʊl/

parole noun: originally, one's oath or word of honour, given as a condition of release from custody; now specifically, describing the release of a former prisoner under certain conditions, especially the promise of good behaviour. Also the alternative form of parol.

Noun

parole (usually uncountable, plural paroles)

(usually, with-on) Originally, one's oath or word of honour, given as a condition of release from custody; now specifically, describing the release of a former prisoner under certain conditions, especially the promise of good behaviour.
- He will be on parole for nearly two more years.
- He was released on parole.
(usually) Conditional release of a prisoner (now especially before the end of a custodial sentence), or the term or state of such release; the system governing such releases.
- A Minnesota woman who killed her 6-year-old son will now spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole.2023 February 16, WCCO Staff, “Julissa Thaler sentenced to life in prison for murdering 6-year-old son, Eli Hart”, in cbsnews.com
(historical, usually) A word of honor, especially given by a prisoner of war, to not engage in combat if released.
- This man had forfeited his military parole.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC
- In hospital he gave his parole, and was enlarged after paying for the torn blanket.1926, T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, New York: Anchor, published 1991, page 167
(archaic, usually) A watchword or code phrase; (military) a password given only to officers, distinguished from the countersign, which is given to all guards.
- ‘Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.’1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford, published 2008, page 1143
- […] their parole or watchword, which is orange, distinguishes them from the rebels in any action, to prevent disagreeable mistakes.1796, John Stedman, chapter 4, in Narrative of a Five Years’ Expedition,, volume 1, London: J. Johnson, page 80
(usually) Language in use, as opposed to language as a system.
(US, usually, immigration law) The permission for a foreigner who does not meet the technical requirements for a visa to be allowed to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.

Verb

parole (third-person singular simple present paroles, present participle paroling, simple past and past participle paroled)

(transitive) To release (a prisoner) on the understanding that s/he checks in regularly and obeys the law.
- Whitelaw was allowed to continue to San Francisco. There, INS officials assigned Whitelaw a temporary status for "deferred examination," and "paroled" him into the U.S., permitting him to stay for his planned five-week vacation.1980 April 12, Lew Lasher, “INS 'Paroles' Australian; Policy Still Unclear”, in Gay Community News, page 1
(intransitive) To be released on parole.
- I am a gay guy that likes S&M, and am looking for a master out on the streets to write me in here. I would like to parole to NYC some day if I can.1983 August 20, Dwain Rasmussen, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 6, page 23

Also used as

parole is also the alternative form of parol.

parole meaning in Indonesian

parole in Indonesian

law: a release of (a prisoner): pelepasan bersyarat
linguistics: language in use: tutur

Examples of parole in a sentence

I saw my parole officer this morning for a drug test.
He picked up a parole violation last month.
Kelly has to check in with her parole officer today.

All 32 example sentences with parole

Forms of parole

Noun
plural	paroles
Verb
third-person singular present	paroles
present participle	paroling
past participle	paroled
past	paroled

Past tense of parole: paroled

Plural of parole: paroles

Origin of parole

Borrowed from Middle French parole (“word, formal promise”), from Old French parole, from Late Latin parabola (“speech”), from Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ). Doublet of parabola, parable, and palaver.

Words formed from parole

Phrases with parole

Words that rhyme with parole

47 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about parole

What does parole mean?: Parole means originally, one's oath or word of honour, given as a condition of release from custody; now specifically, describing the release of a former prisoner under certain conditions, especially the promise of good behaviour.
What is parole in Indonesian?: Parole in Indonesian is pelepasan bersyarat, tutur. See Parole meaning in Indonesian.
What part of speech is parole?: Parole can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce parole?: Parole is pronounced /pəˈɹəʊl/ (UK).
What is the plural of parole?: The plural of parole is paroles.

Words near parole in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: parole (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-parole.wav.

Cite this entry: “parole.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/parole. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.