26
I would say "Absolve" is the word that best fits the example sentence
This person's charity does not absolve their greed.
it's originally a religious term, as in having ones sins absolved.
However it looks like that's only one aspect of what you're asking for as the comments have pointed out.
You might also say that the person is two-faced, ...
19
In the particular sentence you gave,
This person's charity does not ________ their greed.
the usual phrases would be excuse or make up for. There are many other possibilities: offset, compensate for, counterbalance, countervail, outweigh, atone for, redress, cancel out, recompense, and many others.
17
Besides the good list of words in linguisticum's answer, maybe license would fit:
license verb
transitive verb
2 : to give permission or consent to : allow Source: Merriam-Webster
So:
This person's charity does not license their greed.
11
Having thought of canininity, I found that OED does actually contain a similar word:
caninity noun
From Latin canīnus, after humanity.
Canine quality or trait; dog nature or race.
1879 G. MacDonald Sir Gibbie I. ix. 131 A lover of humanity can hardly fail to be a lover of caninity.
Sympathy with dogs, kindness to dogs.
1886 Sat. Rev. 27 Feb. 289/1 ...
10
A good deed and a bad deed might cancel out. People who let them get away with one bad deed are giving them a pass. Metaphors include a mulligan (illegally pretending your first shot didn’t count in golf) or a get out of jail free card from Monopoly.
In religion, this might be called a dispensation if done in advance, an indulgence if done afterwards or ...
6
"This person's charity does not mitigate their greed."
OED
1.a. transitive. To alleviate or give relief from (an illness or symptom, pain, suffering, sorrow, etc.); to lessen the trouble caused by (an evil or difficulty).
1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. i, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 29 Princes of greater abilities were content to mitigate evils ...
3
Although not a single word, I believe you can use "free pass", as one of its meanings is the following, according to Cambridge English Dictionary:
[ S ] complete freedom to do something:
Just because you're famous, you don't get a free pass to break the law.
2
One word which can be used in your context perfectly but has a much broader implication is ameliorate.
According to Merriam-Webster:
to make (something, such as a problem) better, less painful, etc.
Ameliorate refers to not just a person's actions about it also applies to things as well.
While it does make sense in the context:
This person's charity does ...
2
Dogginess:
the quality or characteristic of being doggy
Source: Collins Dictionary
1
Perhaps the words 'latitude' or 'license' could be of service, as in the phrase "to grant latitude/license". In the sense in which they mean to have the freedom or permission do something, they quite often used with verbs like 'give' or 'grant' to give the idea of something being bestowed by other(s). The specific element of latitude being given to ...
1
Consider:
There will be no further barking in this house.
This sort-of works on a literal level:
Lexico:
Utter (a command or question) abruptly or aggressively.
‘he began barking out his orders’
American Heritage Dictionary:
To speak sharply; snap: "a spot where you can just drop in ...
without anyone's barking at you for failing to plan ahead" (...
1
Let's go from Latin to Greek.
No cynoids or cynoid creatures
The suffix -oid refers to the object's shape or form. So an ovoid is egg-shaped. Well, people will insist on mixing Latin and Greek in the same word, and ovum is definitely Latin. Strictly, It should be oyyoid, to be Greek and oviform to be purely Latin-derived, but never mind that. We can't ...
1
It's about time (idiom)
Informal —Used to say often in an annoyed way that something should have happened sooner
It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for over an hour!
"They're getting married." "Well, it's about time! m-w
1
If you want to go colloquial, perhaps "I really need a shower" would do the trick.
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