condone
Americanverb (used with object)
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condones,
present (3rd person singular)
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condoned,
past participle, past
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condoning
present participle
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to disregard or overlook (something illegal, objectionable, or the like).
The government condoned the computer hacking among rival corporations.
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to give tacit approval to.
By his silence, he seemed to condone their behavior.
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to pardon or forgive (an offense); excuse.
His employers are willing to condone the exaggerations they uncovered in his résumé.
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to cause the condonation of; justify the pardoning of (an offense).
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Law. to forgive or act so as to imply forgiveness of (a violation of the marriage vow).
His spouse condoned his infidelity from the early years of their marriage.
verb
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to overlook or forgive (an offence)
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law (esp of a spouse) to pardon or overlook (an offence, usually adultery)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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condonesimple
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condonessimple
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have condonedperfect
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has condonedperfect
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am condoningprogressive
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are condoningprogressive
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is condoningprogressive
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have been condoningperfect progressive
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has been condoningperfect progressive
Past
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condonedsimple
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had condonedperfect
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was condoningprogressive
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were condoningprogressive
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had been condoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of condone
First recorded in 1615–25, but in general currency from its use in the British Divorce Act of 1857 (see condone def. 5 ); from Latin condōnāre “to absolve, grant pardon,” equivalent to con- “with, together” + dōnāre “to give”; see origin at con-, donate
Explanation
If you condone something, you allow it, approve of it, or at least can live with it. Some teachers condone chewing gum, and some don't. Things that are condoned are allowed, even if everyone isn't exactly thrilled about it. People often say, "I don't condone what he did, but I understand it." Condoning is like excusing something. People seem to talk more about things they don't condone than things they do condone. Your mom might say, "I don't condone you staying up till 10, but I know you need to read." That's a way of giving approval and not giving approval at the same time.
Vocabulary lists containing condone
The Hunger Games
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Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
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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:
“I want to be clear that the city of Riverside doesn’t condone this behavior, but we are responsible for fixing the situation that led to it,” she said at the June 9 City Council meeting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
"The University cannot overlook or condone them and cannot proceed in a way that suggests endorsement or association," it said.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
Fifa applauded Boateng's principles and made him the first member of its anti-discrimination taskforce, but said it did not condone his decision to walk off.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
“So even if they’re aware that they’re not supposed to condone the way people are speaking, or they shouldn’t be that way in those environments, they will condone it,” she said.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026
"It was a great shock to me. Her parents were decent folk, too, who had brought her up very strictly. I'm glad to say they did not condone her behaviour."
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
"That's not something this government condones," Mr Calvano says.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024
“Nobody condones this. But he legally is entitled to give his public comment.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
He is the author of, most recently, “Dirty Work,” about the morally troubling jobs that society tacitly condones.
From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
Will Reinert, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said “no one condones violence against elected officials.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023
There is so much genuine pain in her voice that Dulce is touched; she forgets all, condones all; to see a fellow-creature in pain is terrible to this hot-blooded little shrew.
From Portia or By Passions Rocked by Duchess
The Central Asian leader, who is a Moscow ally but who has never condoned Russia's offensive, said the roots of the war are "not understandable".
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Kwatra’s supervisors condoned his distribution of gift cards and other perks to clients to entice them to continue shopping at Saks, she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Richard Davis, 50, was at the game against Arsenal and also condoned the booing from some supporters.
From BBC ● May 13, 2025
Hundreds of Lithuanians thundered the patriotic anthem of national independence, which had been banned by the 1940 nonaggression pact between Hitler and Stalin, a deal that, in effect, condoned the Soviet seizure of Lithuania.
From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2024
His preoccupation with improving the cyclotron condoned sloppy and inattentive experimental work.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
It isn’t about the Court condoning Mr. Olivier’s speech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
If he had stayed it would have given the impression that "the culture wouldn't change and that we're condoning it", said Annie Nguyen, a 31-year-old American.
From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026
This is the stuff only the fan of a 17th century witch-sentencing, marital-rape condoning jurist could conjure.
From Slate ● May 29, 2024
"I believe this is a crime against the territorial integrity of a neighbouring state. I'd be condoning it if I stayed silent."
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2024
In the evening, “I often have to shut my ears to their gossip. If I join in, I feel as though I’m condoning them and I feel bad.”
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
