absolve

[ ab-zolv, -solv ]

verb (used with object)

, ab·solved, ab·solv·ing.

1. to free from guilt or blame or their consequences:

   The court absolved her of guilt in his death.

   Synonyms: clear, exculpate

   Antonyms: blame

2. to set free or release, as from some duty, obligation, or responsibility (usually followed by from ):

   to be absolved from one's oath.

   Synonyms: exempt, liberate

3. to grant pardon for.

   Synonyms: forgive, excuse

4. Ecclesiastical.
   1. to grant or pronounce remission of sins to.
   2. to remit (a sin) by absolution.
   3. to declare (censure, as excommunication) removed.

absolve

/ əbˈzɒlv /

verb

1. usually foll by from to release from blame, sin, punishment, obligation, or responsibility
2. to pronounce not guilty; acquit; pardon

Derived Forms

• abˈsolver, noun
• abˈsolvable, adjective

Other Words From

• ab·solva·ble adjective
• ab·solvent adjective noun
• ab·solver noun
• unab·solved adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of absolve¹

1525–35; < Latin absolvere, equivalent to ab- ab- + solvere to loosen; solve

Word History and Origins

Origin of absolve¹

C15: from Latin absolvere to free from, from ab- ¹+ solvere to make loose

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Many were just eager to forget, absolve, or overlook serious accusations, simply because doing so would be hugely convenient.

From The Daily Beast

Yet the essay does not absolve the Left from paranoid thinking.

From The Daily Beast

On the one hand, he is trying to absolve Skyler of his sins.

From The Daily Beast

Social media, Sharif emphasized, has been an indispensable tool for Saudi women “to absolve the gender apartheid.”

From The Daily Beast

Will they absolve him of stealing papal documents and leaking them to the press, and let him go?

From The Daily Beast

And yet, how is it possible to absolve her for her inexplicable behaviour to me?

From Project Gutenberg

"Your word was given to me, and I absolve you from it," she said.

From Project Gutenberg

I cannot yet absolve you from your promise since my own actions in Austria have been far from conventional.

From Project Gutenberg

Can you pretend an excuse now may absolve you, Or any thing like honest, to bring you off?

From Project Gutenberg

Decide to do one or the other quickly: to punish, or to absolve.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• acquit
• exempt
• exonerate
• forgive
• pardon
• relieve
• vindicate