Redeemed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have been set free from guilt or sin through appropriate actions, often involving forgiveness or a change of heart
2. To have achieved a restoration of worth or original value after overcoming a detrimental situation, frequently involving grace
3. To have experienced a recovery from loss or wrongdoing that allows for a renewed sense of purpose and purification through acts of kindness or mercy

Etymology: The core idea is commerce. Latin "redimere" joined "re-" (back) to "emere" (to buy), so to redeem something was to buy it back. Romans used the word for ransoming captives and reclaiming pledged property, and it reached English through Old French "redimer." The moral sense grew out of that ransom meaning. Once a person could be bought back from captivity or debt, religious writers applied the idea to sin, describing Christ's sacrifice as a payment that freed humanity. Only later did the word broaden to describe ordinary people who recover their standing through good deeds. The moral meaning is a metaphor built on a financial transaction.

Synonyms: rescued, saved, recovered, retrieved, atoned

Antonyms: abandoned, forsaken, lost, sacrificed