Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb Law To find not guilty of a criminal offense.
  • transitive verb To conduct (oneself) in a specified manner.
  • transitive verb Archaic To release or discharge from an obligation, such as a debt.
  • transitive verb Obsolete To repay.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To release or discharge, as from an obligation, accusation, guilt, censure, suspicion, or whatever is laid against or upon a person as a charge or duty; specifically, in law, to pronounce not guilty: as, we acquit a man of evil intentions; the jury acquitted the prisoner.
  • To atone for.
  • To settle, as a debt; requite; pay; discharge; fulfil.
  • With a reflexive pronoun: To clear one's self.
  • To behave; bear or conduct one's self: as, the soldier acquitted himself well in battle; the orator acquitted himself indifferently.
  • . To release; set free; rescue.
  • Synonyms To exonerate, exculpate, discharge, set free. See absolve.
  • To behave, act, bear, conduct, demean, deport, or quit (one's self).
  • Past participle of acquit.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • past participle Archaic Acquitted; set free; rid of.
  • transitive verb To discharge, as a claim or debt; to clear off; to pay off; to requite.
  • transitive verb obsolete To pay for; to atone for.
  • transitive verb To set free, release or discharge from an obligation, duty, liability, burden, or from an accusation or charge; -- now followed by of before the charge, formerly by from
  • transitive verb To clear one's self.
  • transitive verb To bear or conduct one's self; to perform one's part

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To declare or find not guilty; innocent.
  • verb followed by “of” To set free, release or discharge from an obligation, duty, liability, burden, or from an accusation or charge.
  • verb obsolete, rare To pay for; to atone for
  • verb To discharge, as a claim or debt; to clear off; to pay off; to requite, to fulfill.
  • verb reflexive To clear one’s self.
  • verb reflexive To bear or conduct one’s self; to perform one’s part.
  • verb obsolete To release, set free, rescue.
  • verb archaic Past participle of acquit, set free, rid of.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  • verb behave in a certain manner

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English aquiten, from Old French aquiter : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad–) + quite, free, clear (from Medieval Latin quittus, variant of Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere, to rest; see kweiə- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English aquiten, from Old French aquiter, equivalent to a- +‎ quit. See quit, and compare acquiet.

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