absolve
/əbˈzɒlv
/verb [with object]
1Declare (someone) free from guilt, obligation, or punishment: the pardon absolved them of any crimes...
- Recovering, he is absolved of his guilt by the understanding daughter.
- At the same time, the right to free speech does not absolve us from our duty to behave responsibly.
- Zoë, as loving in her death as she was in her life, tried to absolve her family from guilt.
Synonyms
exonerate, discharge, acquit, exculpate, vindicate;
release, relieve, liberate, free, deliver, clear, spare, exempt
informal let off
forgive, pardon, excuse, give amnesty to, give dispensation to, give indulgence to;
reprieve, have mercy on, show mercy to
1.1(In church use) give absolution for (a sin): she asked the bishop to absolve her sins...
- In the Roman Catholic Church, it is the sacrament that absolves the sins of an individual through confession.
- What lay chaplains cannot do is say Mass, anoint the sick, and absolve sin after confession.
- In the Catholic tradition, absolution from sin is obtained through confession, in which the penitent confesses to a priest who then absolves the sin and administers penitence.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Latin absolvere 'set free, acquit', from ab- 'from' + solvere 'loosen'.
solve from Late Middle English:
The early senses of solve were ‘loosen, dissolve, untie’; the source is Latin solvere ‘loosen, unfasten’. Other words sharing this base are late Middle English soluble and solution, and mid 17th century solvent. From the same Latin root come absolve (Late Middle English) ‘loosen from’; dissolve (Late Middle English) ‘loosen apart’; dissolute (Late Middle English) of loose morals; and resolve (Late Middle English) ‘thoroughly loosen’.