noun
-
the act of forgiving or the state of being forgiven
-
willingness to forgive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of forgiveness
before 900; Middle English forgifenesse, Old English forgifennys. See forgive, -ness
Explanation
Compassionate feelings for someone that make it easier to forgive that person for some offense can be called forgiveness. Feelings of forgiveness make it easier to feel empathy toward people who have harmed you. If you give someone a break and forgive some misdeed or mistake, you are practicing the act of forgiveness. If your sister borrows your favorite white sweater without asking, it's easy to offer her forgiveness. If your sister borrows your favorite white sweater without asking and spills a glass of chocolate milk on it, forgiveness may be a little harder to grant.
Vocabulary lists containing forgiveness
Ceremony
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Shiloh
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 22–April 28, 2023
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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.
When Mary shows up unexpectedly, asking Sam for the two things she won’t provide — forgiveness and a dress — the pair slowly find their bond regenerating, pulled back together by forces outside their control.
From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026
She also said that years after it happened, she became aware he had asked for Complainant B's forgiveness at a meeting in Armoy.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
Their scenes of fracture and forgiveness become as strong an emotional spine as their parents’ late-in-life romance.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
In her 2019 memoir, “Where the Light Enters,” Jill contrasts Joe’s capacity for forgiveness with her proclivity toward grudges, how she recalls “every slight committed against the people I love.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
It indicates that you are sorry and would like forgiveness.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
