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redeem

[ri-deem]
See more synonyms for redeem on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to buy or pay off; clear by payment: to redeem a mortgage.
  2. to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.
  3. to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction: to redeem a pawned watch.
  4. to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, etc.) for money or goods.
  5. to convert (paper money) into specie.
  6. to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.).
  7. to make up for; make amends for; offset (some fault, shortcoming, etc.): His bravery redeemed his youthful idleness.
  8. to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.
  9. Theology. to deliver from sin and its consequences by means of a sacrifice offered for the sinner.
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Origin of redeem

1375–1425; late Middle English redemen < Middle French redimer < Latin redimere, equivalent to red- red- + -imere, combining form of emere to purchase (cf. emptor, ransom)
Related formspre·re·deem, verb (used with object)un·re·deemed, adjective

Synonyms

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1–3. repurchase. Redeem, ransom both mean to buy back. Redeem is wider in its application than ransom, and means to buy back, regain possession of, or exchange for money, goods, etc.: to redeem one's property. To ransom is to redeem a person from captivity by paying a stipulated price, or to redeem from sin by sacrifice: to ransom a kidnapped child. 8, 9. free, liberate, rescue, save.

Antonyms

1. abandon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

regainrestorerepayrecoupreclaimliberateextricaterehabilitatecompensatesatisfyoffsetransompurchaseretrieveexchangecovercashrepossesssettledefray

Examples from the Web for redeem

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • And by our dreams and labors we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.

  • But as to doing what he wills with a word—see what it cost him to redeem the world!

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • Is it possible to do nothing to redeem these poor people, father, from captivity?

    Homeward Bound

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • Offices which are but pledges that we are expected to redeem.

    Homeward Bound

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • I reject the monstrous theory that while a man may redeem the past, a woman never can.

British Dictionary definitions for redeem

redeem

verb (tr)
  1. to recover possession or ownership of by payment of a price or service; regain
  2. to convert (bonds, shares, etc) into cash
  3. to pay off (a promissory note, loan, etc)
  4. to recover (something pledged, mortgaged, or pawned)
  5. to convert (paper money) into bullion or specie
  6. to fulfil (a promise, pledge, etc)
  7. to exchange (trading stamps, coupons, etc) for goods
  8. to reinstate in someone's estimation or good opinion; restore to favourhe redeemed himself by his altruistic action
  9. to make amends for
  10. to recover from captivity, esp by a money payment
  11. Christianity (of Christ as Saviour) to free (mankind) from sin by his death on the Cross
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Derived Formsredeemer, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Old French redimer, from Latin redimere to buy back, from red- re- + emere to buy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for redeem

v.

early 15c., "buy back, ransom," from Middle French redemer "buy back," from Latin redimere (see redemption). Theological sense of "deliver from sin and spiritual death" is from c.1500. Meaning "make amends for" is from 1520s. Sense of "make good" (a promise, obligation, etc.) is from 1840. Related: Redeemed; redeeming.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper