What does remissible mean?
Remissible means capable of being pardoned or forgiven, particularly when the fault, offence, or sin involved is not considered too serious to excuse. The adjective is especially common in legal, theological, and moral writing, where distinctions between pardonable and unpardonable conduct matter. In ordinary speech, a neutral alternative such as "forgivable" is often easier to understand. Remissible does not mean merely that an act is permitted: permission concerns whether conduct is allowed, whereas remissibility concerns whether wrongdoing can be forgiven. The word is consequently useful in discussing mercy, absolution, mitigation, and the scope of moral or legal responsibility. Its associations with formal religious language can make it sound especially severe when applied to behaviour that other speakers would consider trivial, but its core meaning remains straightforward: the wrongdoing is capable of being pardoned.
adjectiveCapable of being pardoned or forgiven. It is used especially of minor offences, faults, or sins.
- Capable of being pardoned or forgiven, especially for a minor offence, fault, or sin.
"The judge regarded the error as serious in effect but remissible in intention."
"The offence was minor and therefore remissible."
"In the tradition's moral vocabulary, certain failings are regarded as remissible rather than fatal."
One root, two directions: to remit can mean to forgive someone or to send money back.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does remissible come from?
Remissible comes through Latin remissibilis, a form associated with the Latin verb remittere, meaning "to send back," "to release," and "to forgive." The root ultimately combines the Latin prefix re-, indicating back or again, with mittere, "to send." English later developed related forms such as remit, remission, and remittal, in which both the financial and forgiving senses of the Latin verb remain visible.
Related word forms
How remissible is actually used
This is a formal, literary, legal, or theological word rather than an everyday term. It is often chosen to emphasize that an offence can be forgiven, though it commonly suggests that the offence is comparatively minor.
Easily confused with remissible
A remissible fault or offence can be forgiven, whereas a permissible action is simply allowed.
Remissible is an adjective describing something capable of forgiveness, while remission names the act of forgiveness or the reduction of a penalty or debt.