absolve
Americanverb (used with object)
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absolves,
present (3rd person singular)
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absolved,
past participle, past
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absolving
present participle
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to free from guilt or blame or their consequences.
The court absolved her of guilt in his death.
- Antonyms:
- blame
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to set free or release, as from some duty, obligation, or responsibility (usually followed byfrom ).
to be absolved from one's oath.
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to grant pardon for.
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Ecclesiastical.
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to grant or pronounce remission of sins to.
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to remit (a sin) by absolution.
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to declare (censure, as excommunication) removed.
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verb
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(usually foll by from) to release from blame, sin, punishment, obligation, or responsibility
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to pronounce not guilty; acquit; pardon
Synonym Usage
Absolve, acquit, exonerate all mean to free from blame. Absolve is a general word for this idea. To acquit is to release from a specific and usually formal accusation: The court must acquit the accused if there is not enough evidence of guilt. To exonerate is to consider a person clear of blame or consequences for an act (even when the act is admitted), or to justify the person for having done it: to be exonerated for a crime committed in self-defense.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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absolvesimple
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absolvessimple
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have absolvedperfect
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has absolvedperfect
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am absolvingprogressive
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are absolvingprogressive
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is absolvingprogressive
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have been absolvingperfect progressive
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has been absolvingperfect progressive
Past
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absolvedsimple
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had absolvedperfect
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was absolvingprogressive
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were absolvingprogressive
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had been absolvingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of absolve
1525–35; < Latin absolvere, equivalent to ab- ab- + solvere to loosen; see solve
Explanation
To be absolved is to be let off the hook, to be set free from a certain obligation or to be forgiven for a wrongdoing. The Church may absolve you of your sins, but that won't absolve you of the need to attend mass. The Latin absolvere, which means "to set free," is the root of the word absolve. In the religious sense, to be absolved means to be truly forgiven in the eyes of the Lord, which must feel like being set free. In a more mundane everyday usage, absolve can be used to describe being let off the hook. For instance, putting a campaign poster in your window does not absolve you of the responsibility to vote.
Vocabulary lists containing absolve
The Declaration of Independence
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Romeo and Juliet
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"The Declaration of Independence," Vocabulary from the historical document
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sir Geoffrey welcomed the announcement but said it does not "absolve Capita from processing and making payments to members of this scheme in a timely manner".
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
"An external source of ignition or extreme weather does not necessarily absolve a company of civil liability," said Hawari.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Less than two weeks before the attacks, the company amended its agreement with vendors to absolve itself of liability in the event of drone strikes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
But in the letter to GKN executives, the county argued that the donation did not absolve the company of liability or of costs incurred by taxpayers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
This I did too, with my musket clutched absurdly in one hand, and clutched in my head, the fevered hope that once crossed, the river should absolve us of scent, and the dogs lose us.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Your mother-in-law knows her son better than anyone, I assume, and giving this money to him absolves her of two things.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
A fractious national legislature absolves anyone of the responsibility of trying.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Martinique official Serge Letchimy hailed a vote that he said had come "to shatter a system that tramples on the truth, absolves the guilty, and scorns the victims".
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
"An order that absolves a man of such a crime, to say it's not a crime, is the darkest hour in our legal system," she told the BBC.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2025
Saying kaddish and sitting shiva, that absolves them of any responsibility for you.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
By that stage, the reader might be forgiven for losing track of exactly who has been double-crossed or absolved, let alone when and why.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Can you imagine Magnum PI’s Tom Selleck or Burt Reynolds absolved of body hair?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
For Kevin Farmer, executive secretary of the Codrington Trust in Barbados, the argument that the Church absolved itself by eventually supporting abolition is deeply flawed.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Perhaps most infamous is a campaign speech, seared into the brains of thousands of Samohi classmates, in which he seemingly absolved students of their responsibility to clean up after themselves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025
After months, he'd finally been absolved of his guilt.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Moolenaar redeemed Suozzi, absolving him of any New York weirdness.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
As you suggested, this is often referred to as an “act of God” — absolving Adam of any negligence/responsibility.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
But that may have been the actor’s way of absolving himself of his monstrous off-screen behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
But he feared a ban would easily be overcome by tech-savvy teens, at the same time absolving parents of responsibility.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
I walk away from her, guilt on my hands, absolving myself: I’m a good person.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
