WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Ab*solve" (#; 277)
Part of Speech : v. t. [imp. & p. p. Absolved; p. pr. & vb. n. Absolving.]
Etymology : [L. absolvere to set free, to absolve; ab + solvere to loose. See Assoil, Solve.]
Definition : 1. To set free, or release, as from some obligation, debt, or responsibility, or from the consequences of guilt or such ties as it would be sin or guilt to violate; to pronounce free; as, to absolve a subject from his allegiance; to absolve an offender, which amounts to an acquittal and remission of his punishment. Halifax was absolved by a majority of fourteen. Macaulay.

2. 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.

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

4. To resolve or explain. [Obs.] "We shall not absolve the doubt." Sir T. Browne.

Syn. -- To Absolve, Exonerate, Acquit. 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.


Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913