Meaning 1
Rescue from grave danger, suffering, failure, or ruin.
Reach for it when naming the person, resource, or turn of events that prevents a disastrous outcome
The repaired well became the settlement's salvation during the drought.
Meaning 2
Deliverance from sin and its consequences within religious belief.
Reach for it when discussing the spiritual doctrine in its actual faith context
The sermon linked salvation with grace rather than worldly success.
| Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| playful | ||
| everyday | ||
| warm | ||
| professional | ||
| formal |
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| literary |
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playful
saving grace
Fits when one redeeming feature prevents an otherwise poor result
Careful The phrase is light and evaluative beside genuine life-threatening rescue.
everyday
Fits when removal from immediate danger is the concrete event
Careful Rescue is neutral and lacks salvation's sense of a final escape from ruin.
warm
Fits when continuing support keeps a person or project viable
Careful A lifeline sustains survival but may not resolve the underlying danger.
literary
Fits when release from oppression or severe danger deserves elevated language
Careful Deliverance can sound biblical even in a wholly secular account.
warm
Fits when unearned divine favor is the precise belief being named
Careful Grace may be the means of salvation rather than salvation itself.
professional
Fits when freedom from domination or constraint is the outcome
Careful Liberation belongs to political or social freedom, not the named theological deliverance.
formal
redemption
Fits when moral restoration or recovery from serious failure is central
Careful Redemption concerns restored worth, whereas salvation can mean escape alone.
prove a salvation
The emergency ferry would prove a salvation for the isolated islanders.
economic salvation
The repair cooperative was no economic salvation, but it kept twelve families working.
hope of salvation
The hymn expresses a hope of salvation grounded in mercy.
path to salvation
Different traditions describe the path to salvation in different terms.
Keep in mind
Outside theology, salvation is emphatic language best reserved for escape from genuinely severe stakes.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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