Showing results for "redeeming"

• present participle of redeem.

redeeming

American  

[ri-dee-ming] / rɪˈdi mɪŋ /

adjective

1. offsetting or counterbalancing some fault, defect, or the like.

   a redeeming quality.

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redeeming British  

/ rɪˈdiːmɪŋ /

adjective

1. serving to compensate for faults or deficiencies in quality, etc

   one redeeming feature

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Other Word Forms

• unredeeming
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of redeeming

First recorded in 1745–55; redeem + -ing ²

Explanation

A redeeming characteristic is one that counteracts or corrects something negative. If you can only think of one good thing about your next door neighbor, for example, that one thing is her redeeming quality. Your grandpa may be a difficult person who constantly criticizes you and complains about life. If, however, he makes the best chocolate chip cookies you've ever tasted, you can say that cookie baking is his redeeming quality. And if your dog is truly odd-looking, not cute at all except for her long ears, those ears are her one redeeming physical trait — they're the positive thing that balances out all the negatives.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

redeeming

Gift card redemptions for fuel retailers are rising, the company said, and from January to March, Fetch saw a 20% lift in consumers redeeming fuel-related offers in the app.

From Barron's ● May 13, 2026

Once Social Security’s benefit payments exceed payroll-tax revenue — an issue that is now worrying lawmakers, workers and retirees — the Social Security Administration starts redeeming those bonds.

From MarketWatch ● May 2, 2026

The one possible redeeming point would have been unconditional free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

The character doesn’t need any redeeming qualities for this particular film to remain entertaining.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

Sometimes, I think everything he did, feeding the poor on the streets, building the orphanage, giving money to friends in need, it was all his way of redeeming himself.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini