forgive
verb
for·give
| \ fər-ˈgiv
, fȯr-\
, fȯr-\
forgave\ fər-ˈgāv
, fȯr- \;
forgiven\ fər-ˈgi-vən
, fȯr- \;
forgiving
, fȯr- \;
forgiven\ fər-ˈgi-vən
, fȯr- \;
forgiving
Definition of forgive
1
: to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) : pardon
forgive one's enemies
2a
: to give up resentment of or claim to requital (see requital sense 1) for
forgive an insult
b
: to grant relief from payment of
forgive a debt
: to grant forgiveness
had to learn to forgive and forget
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Other Words from forgive
forgivable
\ fər-ˈgi-və-bəl
, fȯr- \
adjective
, fȯr- \
adjective
forgivably
\ fər-ˈgi-və-blē
, fȯr- \
adverb
, fȯr- \
adverb
forgiver
noun
Examples of forgive in a Sentence
Can you ever forgive me for being so selfish?
I've never forgiven myself for the way I treated her.
We must ask God to forgive us for our sins.
When he feels he's been insulted, he finds it hard to forgive and forget.
He finds it hard to forgive an insult.
We must ask God to forgive our sins.
The government has agreed to forgive some of the debt.
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Recent Examples on the Web
But pro-Brexit voters, who have overlooked many a Johnson foible, might not forgive him for that one. — Washington Post, "Boris Johnson has four options to escape his Brexit mess. One of them is to go to jail.," 11 Sep. 2019 Please forgive us, though, for interrupting your #ootd sweater-weather daydream to remind you of an *especially* important part of fall: college applications. — Holly Schechter, Seventeen, "The Insider’s Guide to Nailing the College Application Process," 5 Sep. 2019 Rather than holding on to the debt, the group forgives it, freeing debtors from their obligations. — Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, "Student Debt Is Transforming the American Family," 2 Sep. 2019 Television audiences might forgive the former, but were deemed too delicate for the latter. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, "The Nostalgic End of Fleabag," 30 Aug. 2019 But forgive me for saying it: this time is different. — David Meyer, Fortune, "The End of Shareholder Primacy, Again: CEO Daily," 23 Aug. 2019 Susan, Love of my life, mother of my son, co-author of this book: forgive me. — Benjamin Moser, Harper's magazine, "Regarding the Pen of Others," 19 Aug. 2019 May God not forgive all those who drove us from our homes and did this to us. — Rania Abouzeid, National Geographic, "Fleeing Syria, these child refugees become child laborers," 20 June 2019 Some forgive it after a period of time while others require repayment. — Laura Kusisto, WSJ, "Home Buyers Get Government Help With Down Payments," 16 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'forgive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for forgive
forgive
verb
English Language Learners Definition of forgive
: to stop feeling anger toward (someone who has done something wrong) : to stop blaming (someone)
: to stop feeling anger about (something) : to forgive someone for (something wrong)
: to stop requiring payment of (money that is owed)
See the full definition for forgive in the English Language Learners Dictionary
forgive
verb
for·give
| \ fər-ˈgiv
\
\
forgave\ -ˈgāv \;
forgiven\ -ˈgi-vən \;
forgiving
Kids Definition of forgive
: to stop feeling angry at or hurt by
Please forgive me—I didn't mean it.
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