absolution
Priest's formal pardon
Absolution is formal release from guilt, blame, or punishment—especially the declaration by a priest that sins are forgiven after confession.
The word implies authority: someone with power to absolve grants it.
Outside religion, absolution suggests being cleared of wrongdoing: The investigation brought him absolution.
To seek absolution is to seek forgiveness from someone who can grant it.
Official release from punishment
- mercyCompassion toward offenders
- clemencyMerciful treatment of offenders
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
reprieve · indulgence · forbearance · condonation · amnesty · exoneration · remission · compassion
Deliverance from harm
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- redemptionRecovery or moral restoration
- sanctificationMaking someone or something sacred
divine · faith · holiness · righteousness · soul · piety · deliverance · purification
Admission of wrongdoing
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
- priestOne who performs sacraments
penitent · confessional · rite · sacrament · shrift · confessor · seal · tribunal
To let go
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- dischargeRelease of substance outward
- unburdeningRelieving oneself of weight
- reliefEasing of distress
deliverance · escape · liberation · clearance · acquittal · emancipation · unshackling · catharsis
pardon
Official release from punishment
- mercyCompassion toward offenders
- clemencyMerciful treatment of offenders
- forgivenessReleasing resentment toward offenders
grace · reprieve · indulgence · forbearance · condonation · amnesty · exoneration · remission · compassion · leniency
salvation
Deliverance from harm
- atonementCompensation for wrongdoing
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- redemptionRecovery or moral restoration
sanctification · divine · faith · holiness · righteousness · soul · piety · deliverance · purification · renewal
confession
Admission of wrongdoing
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
priest · penitent · confessional · rite · sacrament · shrift · confessor · seal · tribunal · repentance
release
To let go
- freedomAbsence of constraint
- dischargeRelease of substance outward
- unburdeningRelieving oneself of weight
relief · deliverance · escape · liberation · clearance · acquittal · emancipation · unshackling · catharsis
- forgivenessforgiveness of sins, redemption, mercy, grace, pardon
- reconciliationreconciliation, reconcile, reconciled, reconciling, making up
- confessionconfession, admission, acknowledgment, declaration, statement
- formal actswedding, baptism, coronation, inauguration, oath
- innocenceinnocent, innocence, purity, pure, blameless
- free passeshall pass, golden ticket, comp ticket, guest pass, backstage pass
absolutioncondemnation
Severe disapproval expressed formally
damnation · blame · censure · accusation · conviction
absolutionconviction
Firmly held belief
punishment · sentence · penalty · retribution · condemnation