What does "assoil" mean?
To absolve or release (someone) from blame or sin; to forgive, to pardon.
Assoil
/əˈsɔɪl/ verb
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To absolve or release (someone) from blame or sin; to forgive, to pardon.
- Grammar: assoil is listed as verb.
- Nearest alternatives: acquit, atone, clear, dirty.
- Usage evidence: But ſecretly aſſoyling of his ſin, / No other med'cine vvill he to him lay, / Saying that Heauen his ſiluer him ſhould vvin, / And to giue Friers, vvas better then to pray, / So he vvere ſhrieu'd, vvhat need he care a pin?
How to use "assoil"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "assoil" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "assoil" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "assoil" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "assoil" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "assoil" is acting as verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acquit" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To absolve or release (someone) from blame or sin; to forgive, to pardon. archaic, transitive
"But ſecretly aſſoyling of his ſin, / No other med'cine vvill he to him lay, / Saying that Heauen his ſiluer him ſhould vvin, / And to giue Friers, vvas better then to pray, / So he vvere ſhrieu'd, vvhat need he care a pin?"
- 2 To make (something) dirty or soiled; to soil; to stain; to sully. archaic, obsolete, transitive
"Is it that the world has assoiled my soul? Yet I have not tasted of worldly joys; all that I have known of it has been suffering and tears."
- 3 pronounce not guilty of criminal charges wordnet
- 4 To atone or expiate for (something). archaic, transitive
"But Glauce, ſeeing all that chaunced there, / VVell vveeting hovv their errour to aſſoyle, / Full glad of ſo good end, to them drevv nere, / And her ſalevved vvith ſeemly belaccoyle, / Ioyous to ſee her ſafe after long toyle."
- 5 Followed by from or of: to acquit (someone) from a criminal charge; to find (someone) not guilty; to clear. archaic, transitive
"For if the mater appere vpon his ſyde therby, either clere or doubtefull, than may the iudges acquite and aſſoyle the defendaũt [defendaunt]. And better were it the faute to be quytte, than the fautles to be punyſhed."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Followed by from or of: to release or set free (someone) from a liability, an obligation, etc.; to discharge. archaic, obsolete, transitive
"But firſt thou muſt a ſeaſon faſt and pray, / Till from her bands the ſpright aſſoiled is, / And haue her ſtrength recur'd from fraile infirmitis."
- 7 To clear up or resolve (a difficulty, doubt, problem, etc.); to absolve, to solve. obsolete, transitive
"I ſaie, aſſoyleth this doubt and queſtion, by the only argument and aſſuraunce of the knovven Catholik church of Chriſt."
- 8 To refute (an argument, an objection, etc.). obsolete, transitive
- 9 To discharge (a liability, an obligation, etc.). obsolete, rare, transitive
"And ye poore Pilgrimes, that vvith reſtleſſe toyle / VVearie your ſelues in vvandring deſert vvayes, / Till that you come, vvhere ye your vovves aſſoyle, / VVhen paſsing by ye read theſe vvofull layes / On my graue vvritten, […]"
- 10 To get rid of, put off, or remove (something). obsolete, rare, transitive
"She ſoundly ſlept, & carefull thoughts did quite aſſoile."
- 11 To absolve or release (someone) from excommunication or some other religious offence. obsolete, transitive
"[H]is Barons […] flatly oppoſe themſelues both to his commaund and their Countries good, denying him (vntill he vvere aſſoyled of his excommunication,) their attendance in ſo behouefull a ſeruice."
Example
"But ſecretly aſſoyling of his ſin, / No other med'cine vvill he to him lay, / Saying that Heauen his ſiluer him ſhould vvin, / And to giue Friers, vvas better then to pray, / So he vvere ſhrieu'd, vvhat need he care a pin?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "assoil"?
Common synonyms include: acquit, atone, clear, dirty, discharge, exculpate.
How do you use "assoil" in a sentence?
But ſecretly aſſoyling of his ſin, / No other med'cine vvill he to him lay, / Saying that Heauen his ſiluer him ſhould vvin, / And to giue Friers, vvas better then to pray, / So he vvere ſhrieu'd, vvhat need he care a pin?
How do you pronounce "assoil"?
Pronounced /əˈsɔɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English assoilen (“to absolve or release from blame or sin”), from Anglo-Norman as(s)oiler, as(s)oilier, and Old French as(s)oille [and other forms], the present subjunctive, and as(s)oil, the present indicative, of as(s)oldre, as(s)oudre (“to absolve from blame”) (modern French absoudre), from Latin absoluere, the present active infinitive of absoluō, a variant of absolvō (“to set free from”), from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away from’) + solvō (“to loosen, set free”) (from sē- (“prefix meaning ‘apart; aside; away’”) + luō (“to let go, set free”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut off, to free”). Doublet of absolve and assoilzie.
Etymology 2
Possibly from a- (intensifying prefix) or ad- (prefix meaning ‘to, toward’, or indicating an addition or tendency) + soil (“to make dirty”), perhaps influenced by assoil (etymology 1).