noun
-
the act of forgiving or the state of being forgiven
-
willingness to forgive
Other Word Forms
- preforgiveness noun
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.
It also was a place with "no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialisation of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness."
From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026
The managing director of Wireless Festival has defended the decision to choose Kanye West as a headliner, encouraging people to offer the rapper "forgiveness".
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
And then—maybe—an acknowledgment that forgiveness is a virtue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Accordingly, her payments then don’t count toward the 120 payments required to earn public service loan forgiveness.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026
But it was hard to breathe when June looked so pretty, and Ivy hoped so much that this note meant forgiveness and that June liked the picture Ivy drew.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
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.
