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
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.
This week, a chastened Summers found himself in different circumstances: standing in the well of a Harvard lecture hall, asking his students’ forgiveness as his professional life was unraveling.
"I will carry this sorrow in my conscience," he wrote, asking the victims' mothers for forgiveness.
From Barron's
When Bash brought up some of these examples, Greene reiterated her past apologies and said a core part of her Christian faith is forgiveness.
From BBC
It can’t be vague tax credits or even student loan forgiveness.
From Los Angeles Times
“Mio Cristo” is a delicate and airy ballad about forgiveness sung in Italian, which puts her in an operatic frame of mind.
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.
