forgiven
Definition
- Verb (past participle of "forgive"):
- To stop feeling anger or resentment toward someone for an offense or mistake: "forgiven" describes the state of having been pardoned or absolved from blame or wrongdoing.
- To cancel a debt or obligation: In financial or legal contexts, "forgiven" means that a debt has been formally waived or released.
Usage Examples
Emotional or relational absolution:
- She has forgiven him for his harsh words. (She no longer holds anger toward him for what he said.)
- After the apology, the mistake was forgiven and forgotten. (The offense was pardoned and no longer remembered.)
Financial or legal cancellation:
- The bank has forgiven the student loan debt. (The bank has cancelled the obligation to repay the loan.)
- The penalty was forgiven due to unforeseen circumstances. (The punishment or fine was waived.)
Advanced Usage
"to be forgiven": to be released from blame or obligation.
- His tardiness was forgiven because of the emergency. (He was excused for being late due to the urgent situation.)
"forgive and forget": to pardon someone and no longer think about the offense.
- They decided to forgive and forget after the long argument. (They chose to reconcile and move on without holding a grudge.)
Variants and Related Words
Forgive (v): the base form of the verb.
- Please forgive me for my rudeness. (Please pardon my impolite behavior.)
Forgiveness (n): the act or feeling of pardoning someone.
- Forgiveness is essential for emotional healing. (Pardoning others is crucial for mental well-being.)
Unforgiven (adj): not pardoned; still held accountable.
- The crime remained unforgiven by the community. (The offense was not pardoned by the people.)
Synonyms
- Pardoned: officially released from penalty or blame.
- Absolved: freed from guilt or responsibility, often in a moral or religious sense.
- Exonerated: cleared from accusation or blame, especially after investigation.
Phrasal Verbs
Forgive over: (rare) to pardon repeatedly or over time.
- He forgave over her minor mistakes. (He pardoned her small errors on multiple occasions.)
Forgive for: to pardon someone because of a specific reason.
- She forgave him for his forgetfulness. (She pardoned him because he was forgetful.)
Related Idioms
"Forgive and forget": to pardon an offense and move on without dwelling on it.
- It's best to forgive and forget after a small quarrel. (It is wise to pardon the mistake and not think about it anymore.)
"To err is human, to forgive divine": making mistakes is part of human nature, but forgiving is a noble or godlike act.
- He reminded her that to err is human, to forgive divine. (He suggested that she should forgive because it is a virtuous act.)