absolution

noun ab·so·lu·tion \ ˌab-sə-ˈlü-shən \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of absolution

:the act of forgiving someone for having done something wrong or sinful :the act of absolving someone or the state of being absolved; specifically :a remission of sins pronounced by a priest (as in the sacrament of reconciliation)

The rite of confessing one's sins to a priest and receiving absolution … is also recognized as a sacrament in the Anglican and Orthodox Christian traditions.
—Peter Steinfels

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Examples of absolution in a Sentence

He asked the priest to give him absolution for his sins.
the jury's verdict of “not guilty” was absolution in the eyes of the law, but the verdict would always be “guilty” in the court of public opinion

Recent Examples of absolution from the Web

Unsuccessful thus far, Bahman’s entreaties for a fifth reunion with Niloo and Kian might be his only option for attaining freedom – and perhaps absolution.

— terry hong, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Refuge' is the story of an Iranian family in search of home," 26 July 2017
While Bey and Jay had been keeping a super low public profile for most of June, the rapper dropped his new and extremely candid apology album 4:44, which detailed his infidelity and later absolution.

— lilian min, Redbook, "Beyoncé and JAY-Z Twins' Birth Certificates Finally Share Some Birth Details," 20 July 2017
The Alienware 15 R4 and its GTX 1070 pushed Hitman: Absolution along at 68fps, while the Asus ROG GX501 Zephyrus surged ahead at 85fps.

— gordon mah ung, PCWorld, "Hands-on: How the Asus ROG GX501 Zephyrus performs with Nvidia's Max-Q technology," 27 June 2017
This was a breathtaking act of self-absolution and deception.

— jelani cobb, The New Yorker, "The Battle Over Confederate Monuments in New Orleans," 12 May 2017
The Dodgers granted Bellinger absolution by scoring seven runs in the final three innings.

— bill plunkett, Orange County Register, "Cody Bellinger homers twice as Dodgers finish strong to beat Padres, 8-2," 5 May 2017
Establish authority as a historian of the weird and offer sweeping absolution for various human foibles.

— virginia heffernan, New York Times, "Steven Johnson on How Play Shaped the World," 22 Nov. 2016
Both books offer a vision of personal experience as something intellectually constructed rather than nakedly exposed; in their pages, revelation is a mode of self-scrutiny rather than a plea for absolution or attention.

— leslie jamison, The Atlantic, "Enough About Me," 5 Apr. 2015
D'Souza goes on to actually make these words come out of his mouth: Obama possesses in his pocket what can be called certificates of racial absolution.

— mark warren, Esquire, "Why Does Dinesh D'Souza Hate America?," 28 Aug. 2012

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'absolution.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Since the Latin absolutus meant "set free", it's easy to see how absolution came to mean "set free from sin". (And also easy to see why absolute means basically "pure"—that is, originally, "free of sin".) The verb for absolution is absolve. Just as a priest absolves believers of their sins, you may absolve your brother of blame for a household disaster, or you yourself may in time be absolved for that scrape on the car backing out of a parking space.

Origin and Etymology of absolution

Middle English absoluciun, borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin absolūtiōn-, absolūtiō "completion, acquittal, release," from absolū- (stem, before consonants, of absolvere "to set free, acquit, finish") + -tiōn-, -tiō suffix of action nouns — more at absolve

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First Known Use: 13th century

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