forgive
/fəˈɡɪv
/verb (past forgave; past participle forgiven) [with object]
1Stop feeling angry or resentful towards (someone) for an offence, flaw, or mistake: I’ll never forgive David for the way he treated her...
- She desperately wanted to forgive him and stop him from going, but her pride got in the way.
- He will have to forgive you and stop being a parole officer, or you'll have to call it a day.
- Still, he's my only brother, and I tend to forgive him anything.
Synonyms
pardon, excuse, exonerate, absolve, acquit, let off, grant an amnesty to, amnesty;
make allowances for, stop feeling resentful towards, feel no resentment towards, stop feeling malice towards, feel no malice towards, harbour no grudge against, bury the hatchet with;
let bygones be bygones
informal let someone off the hook, go easy on
rare exculpate
1.1No longer feel angry about or wish to punish (an offence, flaw, or mistake): I was willing to forgive all her faults for the sake of our friendship [no object]: he had never found it easy to forgive and forget...
- At the same time, as we confess our sins, let us forgive the faults committed by others toward us.
- Even if the mistakes are forgiven, can one forgive the repetition of the same mistakes over and over again?
- Because he will forgive their iniquity and remember their sins no more.
1.2Cancel (a debt): he proposed that their debts should be forgiven...
- A number of other countries have already forgiven their debts to you, be they government to government or otherwise.
- If all we do is say, we will only loan you the money, then we can never argue to those countries that they've got to forgive those debts.
- The president seems to think that this is an opportunity now to forgive that debt and to wipe it clean and move on.
1.3Used in polite expressions as a request to excuse one’s foibles, ignorance, or impoliteness: you will have to forgive my suspicious mind...
- Now, most of my travel had been underground on the Tube so you will have to forgive my ignorance; I was yet to cross a bridge in London.
- This may be a stupid question, but please forgive my ignorance.
- Now you better be as - forgive the expression - angels until the year closes out.
Synonyms
excuse, overlook, disregard, ignore, pass over, make allowances for, allow;
condone, let go, let pass, sanction, turn a blind eye to, turn a deaf ear to, wink at, connive at, blink at, indulge, tolerate
rare extenuate
Phrases
one could (or may) be forgiven for doing something
Derivatives
forgiver
- He writes that ‘the ideal end-result of forgiveness is the restoration of the original relationship between the offender and the forgiver.’
- High forgivers seemed more empathetic and warm, expressing more positive emotions towards others - including those who hurt them.
- ‘All my life I've been taught to forgive’ Jamie pauses ‘that forgiveness is in the forgiver, but I cant.’
Origin
Old English forgiefan, of Germanic origin, related to Dutch vergeven and German vergeben, and ultimately to for- and give.