English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology
FreeDict.com

befreien — meaning in English

German → English · translate English → German instead

English meaning

  • absolve verb To officially clear someone of blame, guilt, or responsibility.
  • acquit verb To declare or find innocent or not guilty.
  • clear adj Transparent, or free of clouds, mist, or obstruction.
  • deliver verb To bring or take something to its intended destination.
  • exempt adj Not required to do, pay, or follow something that otherwise applies.
  • exonerate verb To officially clear someone of blame or wrongdoing.
  • extricate verb To free someone or something from a difficult, entangled, or awkward situation.
  • free adj Not under the control of someone else; not imprisoned or restricted.
  • liberate verb To set someone or something free from confinement, control, or oppression.
  • redeem verb To exchange a voucher, points, or a bond for cash or its stated value.
  • release verb To set free or allow to leave, especially from captivity or confinement.
  • rid verb To free a person, place, or thing of something unwanted, usually followed by "of."
  • unfetter verb To release from fetters; to unchain; to let loose; to free.

Senses

befreien is used for these senses in English:

  • absolve (transitive) To set free, release or discharge (from obligations, debts, responsibility etc.). [First attested around 1350 to 1470.]
  • acquit (transitive) To discharge (for example, a claim or debt); to clear off, to pay off; to fulfil.
  • acquit (reflexive) To bear or conduct oneself; to perform one's part.
  • clear (transitive) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
  • deliver To set free from restraint or danger.
  • disenthrall (transitive, literary, or, puristic, otherwise, archaic) To free from slavery or captivation (thraldom).
  • exonerate (transitive) To free (someone) from an obligation, responsibility or task.
  • extricate (transitive) To free, disengage, loosen, or untangle.

absolve — full definition

  1. verb To officially clear someone of blame, guilt, or responsibility.
  2. verb To formally forgive someone of their sins.

acquit — full definition

  1. verb To declare or find innocent or not guilty.
  2. verb To discharge (for example, a claim or debt); to clear off, to pay off; to fulfil.
  3. verb to discharge, release, or set free from a burden, duty, liability, or obligation, or from an accusation or charge.
  4. verb To bear or conduct oneself; to perform one's part.

Related German words