noun
-
the act of forgiving or the state of being forgiven
-
willingness to forgive
Other Word 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.
Berman recommends getting on an income-driven repayment program, which would put me in an affordable payment plan where the monthly payments would also count toward my loan forgiveness.
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin bowed in apology over the incident during the Tuesday news briefing and asked for forgiveness from bereaved families of the victims of the May 18 Democratic Uprising.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
And though clearly on the side of forgiveness and compassion, Tanaka is also fully aware of her nation’s prevailing hypocrisy, which accounts for the film’s fittingly ambiguous ending.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
"I like that the movie deals with the ideas of realisation, forgiveness, reconciliation, reclamation," she adds.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Mama crying and asking his forgiveness because she had to go back to work.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
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.
