salvation

salvation — noun

1. the act of keeping someone or something safe from danger, harm, or an unpleasant

1.nounB2
Definition

the act of keeping someone or something safe from danger, harm, or an unpleasant situation; also used for the specific person, thing, or action that achieves this

Example

The flood survivors saw the rescue helicopters as their only salvation from the rising water.

collocation: only salvation + from [physical danger]

Nila started a small garden, and tending it became her salvation during months of loneliness.

pattern: became [possessive] salvation

Common collocations
  • find salvation in
  • seek salvation from
  • one's only salvation
  • the salvation of
  • be the salvation of
Synonyms
  • rescue

    more concrete and physical; focuses on the action of pulling someone out of immediate danger rather than the means of deliverance

  • deliverance

    more formal and often carries a literary or spiritual tone; less common in everyday speech

  • relief

    less about being saved from danger and more about the easing of pain or worry; does not imply the same level of threat

Antonyms
  • danger

    the condition from which salvation rescues you

  • ruin

    the destructive outcome that salvation prevents

Usage Note

Often used in fixed expressions like 'one's only salvation' or 'the salvation of [someone/something]'. The countable form 'a salvation' is possible but less common, and only in the general (non-religious) sense.

Common Mistakes

She thought the medicine was her safety from the disease.
She thought the medicine was her salvation from the disease.
'Safety' describes a condition of being safe, while 'salvation' refers to the means that saves you from danger or suffering.

2. in the Christian faith, the belief that a person is set free from evil's control

2.nounB2
Definition

in the Christian faith, the belief that a person is set free from evil's control and granted eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

Example

During the baptism ceremony, the priest described salvation as a new beginning for the believers.

collocation: described salvation as

Tariro read Bible passages about salvation each evening and found peace in them.

collocation: read about salvation

Common collocations
  • through faith
  • by grace
  • accept salvation
  • receive salvation
  • the message of salvation
  • the gift of salvation
  • salvation through Christ
  • plan of salvation
Synonyms
  • redemption

    strongly religious; emphasizes being 'bought back' or freed from sin through a payment or sacrifice, whereas salvation emphasizes being saved from consequences

  • justification

    a narrower theological term referring specifically to being declared righteous before God; used in formal theology more than everyday speech

Antonyms
  • damnation

    the state of being condemned to punishment, the opposite outcome in Christian theology

  • sin

    the condition from which salvation delivers a person

Usage Note

In Christian theology, salvation is typically understood as a free gift received through faith, not something earned by good deeds. This sense is uncountable — you cannot say 'a salvation' in this meaning. Distinguished from sense 1 by its exclusively religious frame of reference: the danger is spiritual (sin, evil) rather than physical, and the means of rescue is divine (God, Jesus Christ) rather than human.

Common Mistakes

She said her salvation was to be found in meditation and yoga, not in church.
She said her spiritual peace was to be found in meditation and yoga, not in church.
In specifically Christian contexts, 'salvation' has a precise theological meaning centered on faith in Christ. Using it as a general synonym for 'spiritual well-being' in a sentence that contrasts with Christianity is confusing.

Word family

  • save
    verbA2
  • savior
    nounB2
  • saviour
    nounB2
  • saved
    adjectiveB2
  • saving
    adjectiveB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Rescue', 'deliverance', and 'relief' all overlap with the general sense of 'salvation' — being saved from something bad — but they differ in scope and register. 'Rescue' is the most concrete and everyday word: it describes the physical act of pulling someone out of immediate danger (a rescue from a burning building). 'Deliverance' carries a more formal, literary, or spiritual tone and is less common in casual conversation; it often implies liberation from a prolonged or oppressive situation rather than a sudden event. 'Relief' focuses on the easing of pain, worry, or burden rather than the act of being saved; you can feel relief without having been in mortal danger. For example: 'The firefighters carried out a dramatic rescue' (concrete action) vs. 'The community found relief through donations' (alleviation of suffering) vs. 'The refugees spoke of their deliverance from the war zone' (formal/liberation emphasis). 'Salvation' can cover all of these but feels slightly more intense or absolute — it suggests that without this intervention, the outcome would have been disastrous.

rescue ↗deliverancerelief ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • find salvation
  • seek salvation
  • achieve salvation
  • offer salvation
  • bring salvation
  • work out one's salvation
  • the road to salvation

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'salvation' traces back to the Latin 'salvatio', meaning a saving or deliverance. This noun came from the verb 'salvare' (to save), which itself derives from 'salvus' meaning safe or unharmed. The word passed into English through Old French 'sauvacion' during the 13th century, when it was used almost exclusively in religious contexts. Its broader, non-religious use — referring to rescue from any kind of danger or difficulty — developed several centuries later.