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."

Example Sentences

Three-time runner-up Justin Rose, who is jjoint fourth, is targeting his own redemptive win after losing to McIlroy in last year's sudden-death play-off and credits his own patience for his back-nine climb up the leaderboard.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

They’re playing redemptive basketball, witness Deandre Ayton finally showing up and proving he is truly the X factor on this team.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

He understood, as he sang in “Ring of Fire,” that love could be painful as well as pleasant and that either way it was redemptive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

There is no way to make the social revolution America is experiencing painless, but it is still in our power to make it redemptive.

From Salon • Jun. 24, 2025

Namely: not seeking profit or praise from his redemptive efforts.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel