forgive

/fərˈgɪv/

/fəˈgɪv/

Other forms: forgiven; forgave; forgiving; forgives

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.

Definitions of forgive

1. verb

   stop blaming or grant forgiveness
   “She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday”

   types:

   condone, excuse

   excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with

   absolve, free, justify

   excuse or free from blame

   absolve, shrive

   grant remission of a sin to

   remit

   forgive

   pardon

   grant a pardon to

   excuse, pardon

   accept an excuse for

   excuse, exempt, let off, relieve

   grant exemption or release to

   wash one's hands

   to absolve oneself of responsibility or future blame

   amnesty

   grant a pardon to (a group of people)

   type of:

   concede, grant, yield

   be willing to concede
2. verb

   absolve from payment
   “I forgive you your debt”

   type of:

   exempt, free, relieve

   grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to