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.
Since she works in a nonprofit hospital system in Florida, she also qualified for public service loan forgiveness after 10 years of payments.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
“I don’t expect forgiveness, but if I could have seen any other way to get this close, I would have taken it,” he wrote, according to the document.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
However, Curet feels the film is more about "redemption and forgiveness" between Emma and Charlie and whether she can get a second chance.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
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
He became deathly ill and had to beg her forgiveness.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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.
