noun
Interval of rest; a delay or cessation of anything trying or distressing.
Whatever choice Elizabeth Bouvia may ultimately make, I can only hope that her courage, persistence and example will cause our society to deal realistically with the plight of those unfortunate individuals to whom death beckons as a welcome respite from suffering.
—Judge Lynn Compton, California Court of Appeals From a unanimous court opinion on the right to refuse medical treatment, April 16, 1986
