Word Direct Answers

What does "absolve" mean?

Absolve: 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.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To finish; to accomplish. [Obs.] The work begun, how soon absolved. Milton.
  2. 3.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.

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