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.
They fell on the ground and tearfully begged forgiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
And then—maybe—an acknowledgment that forgiveness is a virtue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Her home, health and car insurance have all increased, as has her mortgage, but she can’t defer her student loan payments because she must stay current on them to obtain public service loan forgiveness.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026
Accordingly, her payments then don’t count toward the 120 payments required to earn public service loan forgiveness.
From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026
He could not trust Jomo with the herb garden and would tend it himself when Master was out, and this way, his arigbe, his herb of forgiveness, would never run out.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
