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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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ness
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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.
Like Dickens’s classic fable, this, too, is a moving and cathartic story of forgiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
"I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do," the AI version of Pelkey - wearing a grey baseball cap - continued.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
While some presidents have been frugal with their financial forgiveness – George H.W.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Bring a little forgiveness to the picture, says Celeste Birkhofer, a clinical psychologist and adjunct clinical faculty member at Stanford Medical School who emphasizes grief counseling.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
This was surely a cynical attempt to win forgiveness for what could never be forgiven.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
