Library / English Dictionary

FORGIVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: forgave    , forgiven   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Stop blaming or grant forgiveness

Example:

She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "forgive" is one way to...):

concede; grant; yield (be willing to concede)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forgive"):

condone; excuse (excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with)

absolve; free (let off the hook)

absolve; shrive (grant remission of a sin to)

remit (forgive)

pardon (grant a pardon to)

excuse; pardon (accept an excuse for)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody something

Derivation:

forgiver (a person who pardons or forgives or excuses a fault or offense)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Absolve from payment

Example:

I forgive you your debt

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "forgive" is one way to...):

exempt; free; relieve (grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody something

Credits

 Context examples: 

She had never forgiven him the chicken-killing episode, and persistently held to the belief that his intentions were bad.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the words came to my lips.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She will be more hurt by it, and on the same principle will forgive him much sooner.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Forgive me for having for one moment distrusted you.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“Tom,” said the squire, “say you forgive me, won't you?”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Emma was sure he had not forgiven her; he looked unlike himself.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

God forgive me, how my heart bounded for joy, when hers, which was within touch of it, was breaking with sorrow!

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He has heartily forgiven me now.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“I forgive thee from my heart, dear brother,” piped the blind man.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“God forgive us, God forgive us,” said Mr. Utterson.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)