forgive
To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against.
Example
“Please forgive me if my phone goes off - I'm expecting an urgent call from my boss.”
Other meanings
To pardon (something); to waive any negative feeling over or retribution for.
To waive or remit (a debt), to absolve from payment or compensation of.
“Forgive a debt, that is, tell a debtor that a repayment of a loan is no longer needed.”
Related words
- forgivability
- forgivable
- forgive and forget
- forgive but don't forget
- forgiveless
- forgiveness
- forgiver
- forgiving
- misforgive
- reforgive
- unforgive
- forgive my French
Example sentences
Word history
From Old English "forġiefan" (to forgive, to give).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “forgive” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.