Absolutions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Acts of formally releasing someone from guilt or blame ; official pardons granted by a religious or legal authority ; statements or actions that cleanse a person of sins or wrongdoings
2. Formal declarations that free an individual from responsibility for offenses ; rituals or pronouncements that forgive transgressions ; authoritative acts that restore moral or spiritual innocence
3. Instances of granting forgiveness or exemption from punishment ; ceremonial or legal processes that absolve faults ; verbal or written affirmations that remove culpability and provide relief from guilt

Etymology: "Absolutions" is the plural of "absolution", and the singular is the older word, which reached English through a legal and religious channel. The noun comes from Latin "absolutiō", meaning "acquittal", a word built on "absolvere", "to loosen from" or "to set free". Its ancestor was a term for releasing someone from a charge or obligation, long before it described forgiveness of sins. The word passed into Middle English as "absolucion" and came via Old French "absolution". Its Latin root "absolvere" also gave English "absolve", which is why the two words share a core sense of setting someone free from something binding, whether a debt, a verdict, or a moral stain. The plural form simply counts separate acts of release or separate pardons granted over time.

Synonyms: forgiveness, pardon, exoneration, clemency, remission

Antonyms: condemnation, blame, accusation, punishment, reproach