Definition of "absolution" []

• The act of absolving or the state of being absolved. (noun)
• The formal remission of sin imparted by a priest, as in the sacrament of penance. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I confessed, that I might obtain absolution; but now that falsehood lies heavier at my heart than all my other sins."
• "Thus Obama has become the white liberals 'Christ, offering absolution from the Sin of Being White."
• "And the thing about absolution is you have to earn it."