forgive
Americanverb (used with object)
-
forgives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forgave,
past
-
forgiven,
past participle
-
forgiving
present participle
-
to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
-
to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
-
to grant pardon to (a person).
-
to cease to feel resentment against.
to forgive one's enemies.
-
to cancel an indebtedness or liability of.
to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
verb (used without object)
-
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)
-
to grant pardon for (a mistake, wrongdoing, etc)
-
(tr) to free or pardon (someone) from penalty
-
(tr) to free from the obligation of (a debt, payment, etc)
Synonym Usage
See excuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
forgivernoun
-
unforgivablenessnoun
-
preforgiveverb (used with object)
-
forgivableadjective
-
half-forgivenadjective
-
unforgivableadjective
-
unforgivenadjective
-
forgivablyadverb
-
unforgivablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
forgivesimple
-
forgivessimple
-
have forgivenperfect
-
has forgivenperfect
-
am forgivingprogressive
-
are forgivingprogressive
-
is forgivingprogressive
-
have been forgivingperfect progressive
-
has been forgivingperfect progressive
Past
-
forgavesimple
-
had forgivenperfect
-
was forgivingprogressive
-
were forgivingprogressive
-
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:
Real friends might forgive Misty when she lets them down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I can't forgive them for how they've made an awful traumatic experience last for months," she added.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
It’s like two friends: If you must do something that hurts your friend, you tell him first and try to minimize the cost—that’s how friends forgive each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Watching the stop-motion monsters climb over ruined walls to poke at Greece’s elite soldiers, it’s easy to forgive the movie for its less-than-stellar dubbing or borderline nonsensical love story.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
I don’t know how to talk to you right now, and I want you to forgive me.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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
‘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
After the protests, Modi urged Indians not to harass “misguided” youth and said he forgave people who had used vulgar language against him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
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
In response, Battle’s daughter not only forgave Burton, but has become an active advocate for his clemency.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
He forgave me, maybe because a miserable person can only stand to be alone with their misery for so long.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Other pitfalls just have to be forgiven, like when Abrams has to explain how he’s feeling with an air hose between his teeth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Loans can also be forgiven at any period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
The proposal is breathtaking in its audacity, so much so that you could be forgiven for being distracted by all the elements and missing the bigger picture.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
McBurnie, not so much the prodigal son but now the forgiven one, had that big chance six minutes into the new half - the one he would have dreamed about.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
And even though I said it was okay, I hadn’t really forgiven her yet.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
“If you designed your Muse avatar or if you designed your Dot in the likeness of your pet, perhaps you would feel a little bit more forgiving if your pet coughs up a hairball, right?”
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
Apples are at least somewhat forgiving – the harvest window for those Granny Smiths is three weeks long, says Carter.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The trustee for the GRATs paid the annuities due to her by forgiving portions of the notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
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
Even looking back through a daughter’s forgiving eye, I have to admit: my father was never good-looking.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
