forgive
Americanverb (used with object)
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forgives,
present (3rd person singular)
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forgave,
past
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forgiven,
past participle
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forgiving
present participle
-
to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
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to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
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to grant pardon to (a person).
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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)
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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)
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to grant pardon for (a mistake, wrongdoing, etc)
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(tr) to free or pardon (someone) from penalty
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(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
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forgivesimple
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forgivessimple
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have forgivenperfect
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has forgivenperfect
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am forgivingprogressive
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are forgivingprogressive
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is forgivingprogressive
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have been forgivingperfect progressive
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has been forgivingperfect progressive
Past
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forgavesimple
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had forgivenperfect
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was forgivingprogressive
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were forgivingprogressive
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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:
Watching the stop-motion monsters climb over ruined walls to poke at Greece’s elite soldiers, it’s easy to forgive the movie for its less-than-stellar dubbing or borderline nonsensical love story.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
But she’s chosen to forgive Bustillos, Gonzalez said, because she kept thinking of him as “a kid” and could tell that he was devastated by his actions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Once William accedes to the throne and becomes head of the Church of England it will be his Christian duty "to forgive his brother".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
William has never been able to forgive what he sees as Harry's public airing of the family fallout through his memoir Spare and their interview with Oprah Winfrey.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Eisenhower said, “Mr. President, if you will forgive me, I think I mentioned that to you three months ago.”
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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
She forgives the debt of three men so they’ll change their names to Roy Tillman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
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 now that she forgives me for being dumb and scared and doing the dumb and scared thing.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
After the protests, Modi urged Indians not to harass “misguided” youth and said he forgave people who had used vulgar language against him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 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
Clough never forgave Taylor, who was by then managing Derby County, for signing Robertson on a transfer with a fee to be decided by a tribunal, without informing him of his plans.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2025
“Your mama is still my wife. She done forgave me. Why can’t you? I’ve changed, boy. I’m a new man!”
From "Forged by Fire" by Sharon M. Draper
Show up on a Wednesday night and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the middle of a busy Saturday.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Investors returning from the Labor Day break could be forgiven for wondering if their eyes were deceiving them, but yes, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were significantly worse than the S&P 500.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
But with seven points from a possible nine, three clean sheets and only two points behind early pacesetters Manchester City, the Hull supporters can be forgiven for dreaming a little.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Such poetic license offers little new insight into a topic that has already been picked over for two decades, but it might be forgiven were Hansen as easily dramatized as he is made fun of.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
This was surely a cynical attempt to win forgiveness for what could never be forgiven.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
The point is to notice that stuffing, stripped of its ceremonial duties, is an exceptionally forgiving way to turn bread and whatever else you have into dinner.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Courts are sometimes more forgiving of burdens on speech when the real focus of a law is conduct, and when any restriction on speech is minor and incidental.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
Nancy wasn’t as forgiving of her husband’s critics as Henry was.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
What they could’ve done instead: Opt for lighter colors that are more forgiving, or get used to sweeping or vacuuming your floors more often.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
I went further than forgiving the clerk, I accepted her as a fellow victim of the same puppeteer.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
