Absolve

Vocabulary Practice

Absolve

The word we will be working with today is absolve.

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Absolve is a ​

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​Relationships

The act of absolving can be seen as releasing someone from blame or sin, or "loosening" the hold that responsibility has on a person, which provides a hint about the word's origins. Absolve was adopted into Middle English in the 15th century from the Latin verb absolvere, formed by combining the prefix ab- ("from, away, off") with solvere, meaning "to loosen." Absolve also once had additional senses of "to finish or accomplish" and "to resolve or explain," but these are now obsolete. Solvere is also the ancestor of the English words solve, dissolve, resolve, solvent, and solution.

Open Ended

Based on what you just learned about the word absolved, which part of the word is the prefix, and which part is the root?

​Synonyms

EXCULPATE, ABSOLVE, EXONERATE, ACQUIT, VINDICATE mean to free from a charge.

EXCULPATE implies a clearing from blame or fault often in a matter of small importance.

ABSOLVE implies a release either from an obligation that binds the conscience or from the consequences of disobeying the law or committing a sin.

EXONERATE implies a complete clearance from an accusation or charge and from any attendant suspicion of blame or guilt.

ACQUIT implies a formal decision in one's favor with respect to a definite charge.

VINDICATE may refer to things as well as persons that have been subjected to critical attack or imputation of guilt, weakness, or folly, and implies a clearing effected by proving the unfairness of such criticism or blame.

Drag and Drop

Which of the synonyms is closest in meaning to how absolve is used in the sentence?​

No amount of remorse will ​

Placeholder

shoplifters who are caught, and all cases will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

ACQUIT

VINDICATE

EXCULPATE

EXONERATE