absolve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to free from guilt or blame or their consequences.
The court absolved her of guilt in his death.
- Antonyms:
- blame
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to set free or release, as from some duty, obligation, or responsibility (usually followed byfrom ).
to be absolved from one's oath.
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to grant pardon for.
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Ecclesiastical.
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to grant or pronounce remission of sins to.
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to remit (a sin) by absolution.
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to declare (censure, as excommunication) removed.
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verb
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(usually foll by from) to release from blame, sin, punishment, obligation, or responsibility
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to pronounce not guilty; acquit; pardon
Synonym Usage
Absolve, acquit, exonerate all mean to free from blame. Absolve is a general word for this idea. To acquit is to release from a specific and usually formal accusation: The court must acquit the accused if there is not enough evidence of guilt. To exonerate is to consider a person clear of blame or consequences for an act (even when the act is admitted), or to justify the person for having done it: to be exonerated for a crime committed in self-defense.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have absolvedperfect
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has absolvedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been absolvingperfect progressive
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is absolvingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are absolvingprogressive
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am absolvingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been absolvingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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absolvessingular 3rd person
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absolvingparticiple
Past
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had absolvedperfect
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was absolvingprogressive singular
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had been absolvingperfect progressive
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were absolvingprogressive plural
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absolvedsimple
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absolvedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of absolve
1525–35; < Latin absolvere, equivalent to ab- ab- + solvere to loosen; see solve
Explanation
To be absolved is to be let off the hook, to be set free from a certain obligation or to be forgiven for a wrongdoing. The Church may absolve you of your sins, but that won't absolve you of the need to attend mass. The Latin absolvere, which means "to set free," is the root of the word absolve. In the religious sense, to be absolved means to be truly forgiven in the eyes of the Lord, which must feel like being set free. In a more mundane everyday usage, absolve can be used to describe being let off the hook. For instance, putting a campaign poster in your window does not absolve you of the responsibility to vote.
Vocabulary lists containing absolve
The Declaration of Independence
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Romeo and Juliet
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"The Declaration of Independence," Vocabulary from the historical document
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That deal, and a similar one struck in 2024, didn’t absolve him of criminal liability.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
However, the Nuremberg tribunals after World War II established in international law that obeying an unlawful order does not absolve an individual of responsibility for atrocities.
From Slate • Dec. 3, 2025
Tom Brandis is a rumpled, pudgy wreck, an ex-priest who no longer believes in God and can’t absolve his son of a sin that shattered their family.
From Salon • Oct. 6, 2025
On her most popular Telegram channel she has issued "decrees" to absolve her more than 36,000 followers from bills and debts.
From BBC • Sep. 3, 2025
“Confess, then, and I will absolve you,” I say, trying to sound like Father Alphonse, and we both laugh.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
