unforgiving
Americanadjective
-
not disposed to forgive or show mercy; unrelenting.
-
not allowing for mistakes, carelessness, or weakness.
the unforgiving nature of aviation.
adjective
-
not willing to forgive; unmerciful
-
(of a machine, system, etc) allowing little or no opportunity for mistakes to be corrected
-
harsh and unremitting
an unforgiving and desolate landscape
Other Word Forms
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.
Unforgiving capitalism would be replaced by a welfare state, he predicted, with universal education, guaranteed incomes and supported retirement.
From New York Times • Jul. 2, 2021
Unforgiving fans still blame Chelsea keeper Peter Bonetti, a stand-in when Banks fell ill.
From The Guardian • May 31, 2014
Unforgiving for mediocrities with ambitious estimates, the market is booming as never before when important paintings appear, and performs extremely well if more modest works are offered in a cleverly devised context.
From New York Times • Feb. 4, 2011
Unforgiving Half a dozen doors are being knocked on at any one time, with Miss Berger dashing up driveways to speak to people who are in.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2010
All that guilty sorrow, hidden from the world, whose great heart would have pitied and forgiven, to be revealed to him, the Pitiless—to him, the Unforgiving!
From The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
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.
