redemptive

American  

[ri-demp-tiv] / rɪˈdɛmp tɪv /

adjective

1. serving to redeem.

2. of, relating to, or centering on redemption or salvation.

   redemptive religions.

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Other Word Forms

• nonredemptive
  adjective
• redemptively
  adverb
• unredemptive
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of redemptive

First recorded in 1640–50; redempt(ion) + -ive

Explanation

Anything redemptive saves someone from making a mistake or being evil. Many people describe love as redemptive, healing even those who have done terrible things in the past. The adjective redemptive comes from the noun redemption, and both words have historically been used in a religious way, to mean "delivering (or saving) from sin" or "deliverance from sin." Saving someone's mortal soul, in other words, is redemptive. The Latin root, redimere, means "to get back" or "to buy back."