Redeeming

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. A quality that counterbalances or justifies something negative is often referred to, and it can also imply saving or recovering someone from sin or fault
2. Referring to attributes that alleviate flaws or shortcomings, it also encompasses the act of freeing someone from guilt or moral error
3. A characteristic that offsets a disadvantage can be described in this context, and it also signifies rescuing an individual from wrongdoing or moral failings

Etymology: "Redeeming" is the participle of "redeem," which came into English in the Middle Ages as "redemen," borrowed from Old French "redimer." Its Latin ancestor "redimere" was built from "red-," meaning "back" or "again," and "emere," meaning "to buy," so the core idea was buying something back. The same root gave English "redemption," and the verb's earliest sense was to pay a price to win back something you had lost or given up. The religious sense, to free someone from sin or captivity by payment, was the original centre of the word, and it is still the sense behind the phrase "redeeming qualities." A redeeming feature is one that buys back an otherwise poor whole, so a bad film with a brilliant performance is saved, in the old commercial sense, by what it cost to win that point back.

Synonyms: rescinding, recovering, saving

Antonyms: damaging, losing, ruining