Apoluo most often means to free someone from custody, and also to dismiss people or end a marriage.

The verb most often occurs where an authority frees or seeks to free someone from custody or legal restraint. It also describes dismissing crowds or individuals so that they leave, ending a marriage, and, in a few contexts, release from a condition or into peaceful departure.

1. Freeing from custody or legal restraint · dominant

   This use concerns an official or public decision to let a detained person go. In Acts 16:35 the APB renders the imperative addressed to the officers as “Release those men,” while in Luke 23:25 it states that Pilate released the imprisoned man requested by the crowd; Acts 26:32 presents the man as one who could have been set free.

   Acts 16:35Acts 26:32John 19:12Luke 23:25Mark 15:15Acts 4:21
2. Dismissing people to depart · common

   The verb marks sending persons or crowds away after an encounter or gathering. In Matthew 14:23 the aorist active participle occurs before the speaker goes up alone to pray after dismissing the crowds; in Acts 19:40 the assembly is released after the speech, and in Acts 13:3 those prayed over and laid hands on are sent off.

   Matthew 14:23Matthew 15:39Mark 6:45Luke 9:12Acts 13:3Acts 19:40
3. Ending a marriage · occasional

   In the marriage sayings, the verb concerns a man or woman separating from a spouse before marrying another. In Mark 10:11 the APB renders the clause “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another,” and Matthew 19:7 places the action alongside giving a certificate of divorce and putting a wife away.

   Mark 10:11Mark 10:12Mark 10:2Mark 10:4Matthew 19:3Matthew 19:7
4. Release from a condition or into departure · rare

   A smaller group applies the verb beyond imprisonment or formal dismissal. In Luke 13:12 the perfect passive form addresses a woman as released from her weakness; in Luke 2:29 the present active form addresses the Master concerning his servant’s peaceful departure, and Luke 6:37 places releasing alongside not judging or condemning.

   Luke 13:12Luke 2:29Luke 6:37Luke 8:38Acts 28:25

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the action as “release,” “released,” “dismissed,” “sent off,” “send them away,” and “divorces.” These are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.