forgive
Americanverb (used with object)
-
forgives,
present (3rd person singular)
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forgave,
past
-
forgiven,
past participle
-
forgiving
present participle
-
to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
-
to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
-
to grant pardon to (a person).
-
to cease to feel resentment against.
to forgive one's enemies.
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to cancel an indebtedness or liability of.
to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
verb (used without object)
-
forgives,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forgave,
past
-
forgiven,
past participle
-
forgiving
present participle
verb
-
to cease to blame or hold resentment against (someone or something)
-
to grant pardon for (a mistake, wrongdoing, etc)
-
(tr) to free or pardon (someone) from penalty
-
(tr) to free from the obligation of (a debt, payment, etc)
Synonym Usage
See excuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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forgivernoun
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unforgivablenessnoun
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preforgiveverb (used with object)
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forgivableadjective
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half-forgivenadjective
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unforgivableadjective
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unforgivenadjective
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forgivablyadverb
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unforgivablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
forgivesimple
-
forgivessimple
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have forgivenperfect
-
has forgivenperfect
-
am forgivingprogressive
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are forgivingprogressive
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is forgivingprogressive
-
have been forgivingperfect progressive
-
has been forgivingperfect progressive
Past
-
forgavesimple
-
had forgivenperfect
-
was forgivingprogressive
-
were forgivingprogressive
-
had been forgivingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of forgive
First recorded before 900; for- + give; replacing Middle English foryiven, Old English forgiefan
Explanation
If you forgive someone, you stop blaming him. You should really forgive your kid sister for eating the rest of the cake. Forgive comes from the Old English forgiefan, which also means "forgive," just with cooler spelling. When you forgive someone or something, that's the end of the story. Eventually, you will have to either forgive your friend for stealing your boyfriend, or stop being her friend. Loans can also be forgiven. If your credit card company forgives your debt, that means you no longer have to pay it.
Vocabulary lists containing forgive
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.
See Examples For:
Plenty of people in these pages count their chickens before they’ve hatched, so we can forgive Daniel’s children allowing their expectations to get in the way of reality.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Real friends might forgive Misty when she lets them down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I plead for mercy for the wrongs committed by my son. Please forgive him and send him back to us."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Clemency, meaning mercy or leniency, lets the president reduce the punishment for, or even forgive, federal crimes.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
About 50% of borrowers moved into the IBR plan, an older plan that caps monthly payments at 10% or 15% of discretionary income and forgives remaining balances after 20 or 25 years of payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
There is also a program for public-service employees like teachers that forgives any remaining balance after 10 years.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
In their final exchange, Serena apologizes for what she’s done and June forgives her.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2025
There's something magnanimous about the way Bon forgives his friend without condition, or because he knows that what they've gone through forces people to say things and think things when they know better.
From Salon ● May 27, 2024
I know she forgives me, just as her mother forgives her.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
Modi himself addressed the issue in a selfie video where he said it was "a culture shock" to see young women using expletives, but added that he forgave them.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
I never forgave him for leaving us and hurting my mother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The speech was exploitative, but not demeaning, and the public forgave Nixon.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
In response, Battle’s daughter not only forgave Burton, but has become an active advocate for his clemency.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
Some even forgave him or her in the interest of truth, feeling that the thief had a very important mission that would have pleased Vermeer himself.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
One could be forgiven if memories of the cool-internet era have grown fuzzier over the years, now that the web has become a self-regulating machine in an indomitable surveillance system and all.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
Asked if he's forgiven himself he says no - but he is happy again.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
Loans can also be forgiven at any period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
The proposal is breathtaking in its audacity, so much so that you could be forgiven for being distracted by all the elements and missing the bigger picture.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Sean, she thought, Sean probably hadn’t forgiven Didi.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
“That’s a tough barometer that Americans are not very forgiving on,” De Haan told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
"Strong results are no longer enough if the outlook fails to match an already demanding valuation. Investors are becoming much less forgiving."
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
But after Gouken’s tragic murder — the particulars will eventually be revealed in flashbacks — Ken and Ryu went their separate ways, Ken never forgiving Ryu for failing to save Gouken’s life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
“If you designed your Muse avatar or if you designed your Dot in the likeness of your pet, perhaps you would feel a little bit more forgiving if your pet coughs up a hairball, right?”
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
Even looking back through a daughter’s forgiving eye, I have to admit: my father was never good-looking.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
