- to hear the confession of (a penitent)
- (transitive) to impose a penance upon (a penitent) and grant him or her sacramental absolution
- (intransitive) to confess one's sins to a priest in order to obtain sacramental forgiveness
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
shrive
(shrīv),USA pronunciation v., shrove or shrived, shriv•en or shrived, shriv•ing.
v.t.
v.i. Archaic.
v.t.
- Religionto impose penance on (a sinner).
- Religionto grant absolution to (a penitent).
- Religionto hear the confession of (a person).
v.i. Archaic.
- Religionto hear confessions.
- Religionto go to or make confession;
confess one's sins, as to a priest.
- bef. 900; Middle English shriven, schrifen, Old English scrīfan to prescribe, cognate with German schreiben to write
Latin scrībere; see scribe1
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
shrive /ʃraɪv/ vb (shrives, shriving, shrove, shrived, shriven /ˈʃrɪvən/, shrived
'shrive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):