Meaning & use
redemptive
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Meanings
adjectivecomparablereligion
Bringing rescue from sin or guilt, especially in a religious sense.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: a redemptive sacrifice.
Patterns
- a redemptive act
The sermon spoke of the redemptive power of forgiveness.
Many faiths teach that suffering can be redemptive.
The priest described the act as redemptive.
adjectivecomparable
Making up for earlier faults or failures by bringing about improvement or renewal.
Grammar: Often describes stories, acts or experiences: a redemptive ending.
Patterns
- a redemptive quality
- redemptive for someone
The novel has a redemptive ending in which the thief returns what he took.
Volunteering was a redemptive experience for him after his years of trouble.
Her redemptive kindness changed the town's opinion of her.
Word forms
| comparative | more redemptive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most redemptive |
Common combinations
- redemptive power
- The film explores the redemptive power of art.
- a redemptive act
- Saving the child was a redemptive act.
- redemptive suffering
- The author writes about redemptive suffering.
- a redemptive arc
- The villain has a redemptive arc by the final chapter.
- a redemptive ending
- Readers praised the redemptive ending.
Synonyms and how they differ
- saving
- Saving is plainer and can be used outside religion, but rarely carries the sense of moral renewal.
- restorative
- Restorative focuses on bringing back health or strength, not on making up for a wrong.
- atoning
- Atoning stresses making amends for a fault, while redemptive stresses the positive change that follows.
- healing
- Healing describes recovery from pain or illness, with no suggestion of guilt.
Opposites
Word family
- redeem verb
- to save or make up for
- redemption noun
- the act of being saved or restored
- redeemer noun
- one who redeems
- redeemable adjective
- able to be redeemed
- irredeemable adjective
- impossible to save
Commonly confused: redemptive or redeemable?
redemptive vs redeemable
Redeemable means able to be exchanged or saved, while redemptive describes something that brings redemption.
Practice
The story follows a thief whose act of generosity changes his life. Its theme is best called ___.
Choose one answer.
Redemptive describes a change that makes up for past wrongs. Remedial means intended to fix a learning gap, which is a tempting but different word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “redemptive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.