unforgiving
Americanadjective
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not disposed to forgive or show mercy; unrelenting.
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not allowing for mistakes, carelessness, or weakness.
the unforgiving nature of aviation.
adjective
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not willing to forgive; unmerciful
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(of a machine, system, etc) allowing little or no opportunity for mistakes to be corrected
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harsh and unremitting
an unforgiving and desolate landscape
Other Word Forms
- unforgivingness noun
Etymology
Origin of unforgiving
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.
The rugby world knows Scotland can beat England, but not many folk knew they could come from so many points down in an unforgiving place to win a battle.
From BBC
As a manager, you are thrust almost immediately into the jaws of our unforgiving media and questions about tactics, substitutions and your team's overall performance are fired at you, sometimes under severe pressure.
From BBC
Vonn’s crash highlights both the unforgiving nature of alpine skiing and the extraordinary lengths elite athletes sometimes go to in pursuit of competition.
From Salon
"Immense pride seeing the rocket reach 100% fuel load last night, especially knowing how challenging the scenario was for our launch team doing the dangerous and unforgiving work," said team commander Reid Wiseman on X.
From Barron's
Given the unforgiving nature of his position, it's no surprise there have been some mistakes.
From BBC
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.
