absolve
ub-ZOLV
/əbˈzɒlv/
To declare someone free from guilt, blame, responsibility, or obligation.
Absolve often carries a moral, spiritual, or deeply personal weight, though it can also apply to being freed from a legal contract or duty.
The story behind the word. Absolve comes from the Latin 'absolvere', which literally meant 'to loosen or untie'. Imagine a prisoner bound by heavy ropes of guilt or legal obligation; to absolve them is to cut those ropes and let them walk away completely free.
Word relationships
- acquit: Acquit is strictly legal, meaning a jury or judge has found someone not guilty in a court of law.
- pardon: Pardon is an act of executive mercy that forgives a crime, even if the guilt remains.
- blame: Blame assigns responsibility for a fault or wrong.
- condemn: Condemn expresses complete disapproval or sentences someone to punishment.
Commonly confused with
- exonerate: Exonerate focuses on clearing a name from a specific accusation; absolve focuses on releasing someone from the burden of guilt or duty.
Word family
- absolution (noun): An formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment.
Collocations
- absolve from guilt
- absolve of responsibility
- completely absolve
Example sentences
- "The court's final ruling did not completely absolve the company of moral responsibility for the accident." A legal and moral clearing of responsibility.
- "The priest decided to absolve the penitent sinner after his confession." A classic literary reference to spiritual cleansing.
Memory hook
Absolve sounds like 'dissolve'. Think of dissolving all your guilt and blame in a glass of water until it completely disappears. Absolve dissolves the blame.
When not to use
Do not use when someone is cleared of charges purely by scientific evidence; use exonerate instead.
Fun facts
- In chemistry, the word 'solvent' and 'solute' share the same root as 'absolve'—all coming from the Latin 'solvere' (to loosen or dissolve).
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