absolution

noun

ab·​so·​lu·​tion ˌab-sə-ˈlü-shən 

: 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

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.

Synonyms

• amnesty
• forgiveness
• pardon
• remission
• remittal

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 on the Web

To depict him as a victim of manipulation grants him an unearned absolution. —Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025

The road to Trump begins, in some moral sense, with the absolution of Nixon. —Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2025

The clergy could expect the fulfillment of prophecy, and the poor and the oppressed could look forward to absolution and better living quarters. —Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025

Large crowds turned out in northern India on Wednesday for the last day of the six-week Maha Kumbh Mela that drew a total of 663 million people seeking absolution of their sins by taking a dip in waters that devout Hindus consider sacred. —Reuters, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for absolution

• allocution
• attribution
• comminution
• constitution
• contribution
• convolution
• destitution
• devolution
• diminution
• dissolution
• distribution
• elocution

Kids Definition

absolution

noun

ab·​so·​lu·​tion ˌab-sə-ˈlü-shən 

: the act of absolving

especially : a forgiving of sins