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absolve definition

ab·solve (ab zälv′, -sälv′, -zôlv′, -sôlv′; əb-)

transitive verb absolved -·solved′, absolving -·solv′·ing

  1. to pronounce free from guilt or blame; acquit
    1. to give religious absolution to
    2. to remit (a sin)
  3. to free (from a duty, promise, etc.)

Etymology: ME absolven < L absolvere, to loosen from < ab-, from + solvere: see solve

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

law absolve definition - legal

absolve Synonyms

absolve

v.

acquit, exonerate, vindicate, clear, forgive, pardon, excuse, exculpate, remit, grant absolution, shrive, release, exempt, set free, let off; see also excuse.

absolve implies a setting free from responsibilities or obligation absolved from her promise or from the penalties for their violation; acquit means to clear of a specific charge by a judicial decision, usually for lack of evidence; to exonerate is to relieve of all blame for a wrongdoing; to pardon is to release from punishment for an offense the prisoner was pardoned by the governor; forgive implies giving up all claim that an offense be punished as well as any resentment or vengeful feelings; to vindicate is to clear (a person or thing under attack) through evidence of the unfairness of the charge, criticism, etc.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

absolve Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • crime: He who helps me lift this dark man into light I absolve of any crimes he ever committed.

Preposition: from

  • sin: They held also that the clergy had no power to absolve from mortal sins.

Modifying Another Word

  • not: Failure to sign the time sheet does not absolve the Client's obligation to pay the charges in respect of the hours worked.

Object

  • responsibility: Root Cause is an attempt to absolve responsibility, not an attempt to solve a problem.
absolve usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

absolve quotes

La historia me absolvera¤  . History will absolve me.

-Castro (Ruz), Fidel

Who will remember, passing through this Gate, The unheroic Dead who fed the guns? Who shall absolve the foulness of their fate,ö Those doomed, conscripted, unvictorious ones?

-Sassoon, Siegfried Louvain

absolve quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"absolve." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/absolve>

APA Style

absolve. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/absolve

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