Absolve
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 To set free, release or discharge (from obligations, debts, responsibility etc.). transitive
"You will absolve a subject from his allegiance."
- 2 let off the hook wordnet
- 3 To resolve; to explain; to solve. obsolete, transitive
"1595, George Peele, The Old Wives’ Tale, The Malone Society Reprints, 1908, lines 331-332, […] he that can monsters tame, laboures atchive, riddles absolve […]"
- 4 grant remission of a sin to wordnet
- 5 To pronounce free from or give absolution for a penalty, blame, or guilt. transitive
"A Heretic may see the truth and seek redemption. He may be forgiven his past and will be absolved in death. A Traitor can never be forgiven. A Traitor will never find peace in this world or the next. There is nothing as wretched or as hated in all the world as a Traitor."
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- 6 To pronounce not guilty; to grant a pardon for. transitive
"Abſolves the juſt, and dooms the guilty ſouls."
- 7 To grant a remission of sin; to give absolution to. transitive
"To make confession and to be absolved."
- 8 To remit a sin; to give absolution for a sin. transitive
"In his name I abſolve your perjury and ſanctify your arms: follow my footſteps in the paths of glory and ſalvation; and if ſtill ye have ſcruples, devolve on my head the puniſhment and the ſin."
- 9 To finish; to accomplish. obsolete, transitive
"and the work begun, how ſoon / Abſolv'd,"
- 10 To pass a course or test; to gain credit for a class; to qualify academically. transitive
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"This will never absolve Sami of the crime."
Etymology
First attested in the early 15th century. From Middle English absolven, from Latin absolvere (“set free, acquit”), from ab (“away from”) + solvō (“loosen, free, release”). Doublet of assoil.
Related phrases
More for "absolve"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.