forgive
Americanverb (used with object)
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forgives,
present (3rd person singular)
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forgave,
past
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forgiven,
past participle
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forgiving
present participle
-
to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
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to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
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to grant pardon to (a person).
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to cease to feel resentment against.
to forgive one's enemies.
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to cancel an indebtedness or liability of.
to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
verb (used without object)
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forgives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forgave,
past
-
forgiven,
past participle
-
forgiving
present participle
verb
-
to cease to blame or hold resentment against (someone or something)
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to grant pardon for (a mistake, wrongdoing, etc)
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(tr) to free or pardon (someone) from penalty
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(tr) to free from the obligation of (a debt, payment, etc)
Synonym Usage
See excuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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forgivernoun
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unforgivablenessnoun
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preforgiveverb (used with object)
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forgivableadjective
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half-forgivenadjective
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unforgivableadjective
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unforgivenadjective
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forgivablyadverb
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unforgivablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
forgivesimple
-
forgivessimple
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have forgivenperfect
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has forgivenperfect
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am forgivingprogressive
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are forgivingprogressive
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is forgivingprogressive
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have been forgivingperfect progressive
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has been forgivingperfect progressive
Past
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forgavesimple
-
had forgivenperfect
-
was forgivingprogressive
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were forgivingprogressive
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had been forgivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of forgive
First recorded before 900; for- + give; replacing Middle English foryiven, Old English forgiefan
Explanation
If you forgive someone, you stop blaming him. You should really forgive your kid sister for eating the rest of the cake. Forgive comes from the Old English forgiefan, which also means "forgive," just with cooler spelling. When you forgive someone or something, that's the end of the story. Eventually, you will have to either forgive your friend for stealing your boyfriend, or stop being her friend. Loans can also be forgiven. If your credit card company forgives your debt, that means you no longer have to pay it.
Vocabulary lists containing forgive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There’s no harm in that per se, but you’ll have to forgive my irritation with Sudeikis, Lawrence, Hunt and fellow executive producer and showrunner Joe Kelly’s clumsiness with the team’s most complicated working relationship.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
He said: "I don't feel angry, I try not to. It's very difficult to forgive, I'm working on that."
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Patrick Clancy has asked the public to forgive his ex-wife, saying the woman portrayed in media reports isn’t the person he knew.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
But she’s chosen to forgive Bustillos, Gonzalez said, because she kept thinking of him as “a kid” and could tell that he was devastated by his actions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
A Swanburne girl was slow to anger and quick to forgive.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
About 50% of borrowers moved into the IBR plan, an older plan that caps monthly payments at 10% or 15% of discretionary income and forgives remaining balances after 20 or 25 years of payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
There is also a program for public-service employees like teachers that forgives any remaining balance after 10 years.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
In their final exchange, Serena apologizes for what she’s done and June forgives her.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
There's something magnanimous about the way Bon forgives his friend without condition, or because he knows that what they've gone through forces people to say things and think things when they know better.
From Salon ● May 27, 2024
I know now that she forgives me for being dumb and scared and doing the dumb and scared thing.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Linda Hoy said Complainant B cried at the meeting when she said she forgave Sir Jeffrey.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
The speech was exploitative, but not demeaning, and the public forgave Nixon.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
They helped each other with childcare, and one loaned her money for her daughters’ tuition and then forgave the loan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
In response, Battle’s daughter not only forgave Burton, but has become an active advocate for his clemency.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
“And people forgave you, right? Because everyone makes mistakes?”
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
But on that day, the Wolverines’ punter could almost be forgiven for fumbling a long snap that came spiraling toward him in frigid autumn conditions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
As he stepped up to the baseline, Alexander Zverev could be forgiven for letting his mind slip back to the last time he served for the US Open title.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Show up on a Wednesday night and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the middle of a busy Saturday.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Investors returning from the Labor Day break could be forgiven for wondering if their eyes were deceiving them, but yes, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were significantly worse than the S&P 500.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
I hope she’s forgiven me for dying first.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
The galette, which is essentially a freeform pie, is already one of the great weeknight forms — sweet or savory, rustic by design, deeply forgiving.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
But critics say there is a difference between forgiving Galliano’s words and throwing a glamorous party in his honor—which also would fall at the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah in Hebrew.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Courts are sometimes more forgiving of burdens on speech when the real focus of a law is conduct, and when any restriction on speech is minor and incidental.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
What they could’ve done instead: Opt for lighter colors that are more forgiving, or get used to sweeping or vacuuming your floors more often.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Ptolemy Philadelphus and the twins traveled to Rome where Octavia took them in, further evidence of her caring and forgiving nature.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
