Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Absolve
Ab-solve′
(#; 277)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Absolved
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Absolving
.] 1.
To set free, or release, as from some obligation, debt, or responsibility, or from the consequences of guilt or such ties as it would be sin or guilt to violate; to pronounce free;
as, to
absolve
a subject from his allegiance; to absolve
an offender, which amounts to an acquittal and remission of his punishment.Halifax was
absolved
by a majority of fourteen. Macaulay.
2.
To free from a penalty; to pardon; to remit (a sin); – said of the sin or guilt.
In his name I
absolve
your perjury. Gibbon.
3.
To finish; to accomplish.
[Obs.]
The work begun, how soon
absolved
. Milton.
4.
To resolve or explain.
[Obs.]
“We shall not absolve the doubt.” Sir T. Browne.
We speak of a man as absolved from something that binds his conscience, or involves the charge of wrongdoing; as, to absolve from allegiance or from the obligation of an oath, or a promise. We speak of a person as exonerated, when he is released from some burden which had rested upon him; as, to exonerate from suspicion, to exonerate from blame or odium. It implies a purely moral acquittal. We speak of a person as acquitted, when a decision has been made in his favor with reference to a specific charge, either by a jury or by disinterested persons; as, he was acquitted of all participation in the crime.
Webster 1828 Edition
Absolve
ABSOLVE'
,Verb.
T.
To set free or release from some obligation, debt or responsibility; or from that which subjects a person to a burden or penalty; as to absolve a person from a promise; to absolve an offender, which amounts to an acquittal and remission of his punishment. Hence, in the civil law, the word was used for acquit; and in the canon law, for forgive, or a sentence of
remission. In ordinary language, its sense is to set free or release from an engagement. Formerly, good writers used the word in the sense of finish, accomplish; as to absolve work, in Milton; but in this sense, it seems to be obsolete.
Definition 2024
absolve
absolve
See also: absolvé
English
Verb
absolve (third-person singular simple present absolves, present participle absolving, simple past and past participle absolved)
- (transitive) To set free, release or discharge (from obligations, debts, responsibility etc.). [First attested around 1350 to 1470.][1]
- You will absolve a subject from his allegiance.
- 1855, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume III:
- Halifax was absolved by a majority of fourteen.
- (transitive, obsolete) To resolve; to explain; to solve. [Attested from the late 15th century until the mid 17th century.][1]
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, page x:
- We shall not absolve the doubt.
-
- (transitive) To pronounce free from or give absolution for a penalty, blame, or guilt. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][1]
- (transitive, law) To pronounce not guilty; to grant a pardon for. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][1]
- 1807, w:Alexander Pope, The Odyssey by Homer (English translation):
- Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls.
-
- (transitive, theology) To grant a remission of sin; to give absolution to. [First attested in the mid 16th century.][1]
- 1597, w:William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 5:
- To make confession and to be absolved.
-
- (transitive, theology) To remit a sin; to give absolution for a sin. [First attested in the late 16th century.][1]
- 1782, Edward Gibbon, History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, volume VI:
- In his name I absolve your perjury and sanctify your arms.
-
- (transitive, obsolete) To finish; to accomplish. [Attested from the late 16th century until the early 19th century.][1]
- 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Second Edition, Book VII, line 94
- and the work begun, how soon absolv’d,
- 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Second Edition, Book VII, line 94
- (transitive) To pass a course or test; to gain credit for a class; to qualify academically.
Usage notes
- (to set free, release from obligations): Normally followed by the word from.
- (to pronounce free from; give absolution for blame): Normally followed by the word from.
Synonyms
- (set free): excuse, exempt, free, release
- (pronounce free or give absolution): acquit, exculpate, exonerate, pardon, remit, vindicate
- (theology: to pronounce free or give absolution from sin): remit
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to set free
|
|
obsolete: to resolve or explain
to pronounce free or give absolution
|
law: to pronounce not guilty; to grant a pardon for
|
|
theology: to pronounce free or give absolution from sin
|
theology: to remit a sin; to give absolution for a sin
|
|
obsolete: to finish, accomplish
to pass a course or test; to gain credit for a class; to qualify academically
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 9