redemption means the act of redeeming or something redeemed. It carries an Arena rating of 1918, earned across 36 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, redemption ranks #366 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,608 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #3,079 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,093 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
redemption is pronounced /ɹɪˈdɛmpʃən/.
Why “redemption” is a great word
The act of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil, or the action of regaining possession through payment or obligation. From Middle English redempcioun, from Old French redemption, from Latin redemptio ("a buying back, ransoming"), from redimere ("to redeem, buy back"), first recorded in English 1300–50. Unlike "salvation," which implies a divine and final deliverance, or "ransom," which names the specific price paid, redemption is the fraught and often secular process of the reclaiming itself. It is the sweat-stained coin for the pawned watch, the long amends made in quiet rooms, and the stubborn belief that a life, like a bottle returned, can somehow recover its deposit—the fragile hope that what was lost is not beyond being bought back.
Etymology
From Middle English redempcioun, from Old French redemption, from Latin redemptio. Doublet of ransom. Displaced native Old English ālīesung, ālīesnes.
noun
- The act of redeeming or something redeemed.
- The recovery, for a fee, of a pawned article.
- The conversion (of a security) into cash.e.g.“When money comes in, stablecoin operators can exercise how and when to buy reserves. When they face redemptions, they have to act faster.” — 2025 June 7, Katie Martin, “Why we should worry about the rise of stablecoins”, in FT Weekend (The Long View section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 18:
- Salvation from sin.e.g.“Before creating the world, God knew both the need for and the means of the redemption He would provide through Jesus Christ.” — 2011, Drama of Redemption, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 9:
- Rescue upon payment of a ransom.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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