ransom

rescue, deliver, redeem, ransom, reclaim, save mean to set free from confinement or danger. rescue implies freeing from imminent danger by prompt or vigorous action.

• • rescued the crew of a sinking ship

deliver implies release usually of a person from confinement, temptation, slavery, or suffering.

• • delivered his people from bondage

redeem implies releasing from bondage or penalties by giving what is demanded or necessary.

• • job training designed to redeem school dropouts from chronic unemployment

ransom specifically applies to buying out of captivity.

• • tried to ransom the kidnap victim

reclaim suggests a bringing back to a former state or condition of someone or something abandoned or debased.

• • reclaimed long-abandoned farms

save may replace any of the foregoing terms; it may further imply a preserving or maintaining for usefulness or continued existence.

• • an operation that saved my life