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
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had forgivenperfect
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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
“I am so ashamed that I cannot even raise my eyes. Please forgive me. Please,” said Singh in the video.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 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
And a brother who is not in the mood to forgive... for now.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 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
She forgives the debt of three men so they’ll change their names to Roy Tillman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
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
‘Sméagol was only joking. Always forgives, he does, yes, yes, even nice Master’s little trickses. Oh yes, nice Master, nice Sméagol!’
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
“I don’t know how you’re doing it,” Bustillos’ mother said after Gonzalez told Bustillos she forgave him for the crash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
She left behind a small stone to honor the dead and forgave herself for not having found a way to save her parents, murdered on arrival at Auschwitz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The speech was exploitative, but not demeaning, and the public forgave Nixon.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
In response, Battle’s daughter not only forgave Burton, but has become an active advocate for his clemency.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
Dicey forgave him, without a word, without another thought.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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
Such poetic license offers little new insight into a topic that has already been picked over for two decades, but it might be forgiven were Hansen as easily dramatized as he is made fun of.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
There’s a lot going on when you first have a baby, so perhaps new parents can be forgiven for not having everything together right away.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
However, many supporters have not forgiven Rashford for his coolness towards United during loan spells with Aston Villa and Barcelona, where everyone expected him to be this season.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
I hope she’s forgiven me for dying first.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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
She said the camp teaches children about forgiveness, so she and her husband put that lesson into practice by forgiving the people who took the trailer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 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
Finch: What are the odds of them forgiving and forgetting?
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
