# forgive

Pronunciation: US say "fur-GIV" /fɚˈɡɪv/; UK say "fuh-GIV" /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/

## Verb

1. To pardon someone, letting go of anger toward them and any wish to see them punished.
   - Simple: To stop feeling angry at someone who has hurt or wronged you.
   - _The victim's family chose to forgive the man who caused the accident._
   - _He forgave his old rival after years of bitterness between them._
2. To pardon an offense or wrong, giving up any anger over it or wish for retribution.
   - Simple: To stop feeling angry about a wrong act and let it go.
   - _They agreed to forgive the insult for the sake of peace._
   - _She could never quite forgive the betrayal that ended their friendship._
3. To grant pardon; to let go of resentment rather than hold onto it.
   - Simple: To stop being angry and let wrongs go.
   - _Learning to forgive can free a person from years of resentment._
   - _He struggled to forgive, even when he knew he should._
4. To waive or remit a debt, releasing someone from the obligation to pay or compensate.
   - Simple: To cancel a debt so someone no longer has to pay it back.
   - _The program will forgive student loans for teachers after ten years of service._
   - _The lender forgave the remaining balance as a goodwill gesture._
5. To overlook something; to look beyond a fault or shortcoming.
   - Simple: To look past something and not let it bother you.
   - _Forgive the dust. We only moved in last week._
   - _Critics forgave the film's flaws given how ambitious it was._
6. To redeem something, offsetting or making up for its bad effects.
   - Simple: To make up for something bad and balance out its harm.
   - _The car's comfort forgives its sluggish acceleration._
   - _A warm welcome can forgive many small mistakes in a meal._

## Origin

From Middle English 'foryiven', from Old English 'forġiefan' ('to forgive, to give'), from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną ('to give away; release; forgive'). It is essentially 'for-' plus 'give', and is related to Dutch 'vergeven' and German 'vergeben' ('to forgive').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/forgive (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).