forgiveness

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /fɚˈɡɪvnəs/ UK /fəˈɡɪvnəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the act of pardoning an offense or ceasing to feel resentment

He begged for her forgiveness after the betrayal.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of pardoning an... pardon absolution mercy clemency exoneration amnesty remissionlenity

Opposites

resentment retribution vengeance condemnation punishment

Word family

Related forms forgive forgiving give

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

It's easier to get forgiveness than permission

Etymology

From forgive (Old English forgiefan 'to give up, remit, pardon', from for- 'completely' plus giefan 'to give') plus the abstract suffix -ness; a calque on Latin perdonare. It denotes pardoning an offense.

forgiefan Old English giefan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# forgiveness

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /fɚˈɡɪvnəs/
**IPA (UK):** /fəˈɡɪvnəs/

## Meanings
1. the act of pardoning an offense or ceasing to feel resentment

## Examples
- He begged for her forgiveness after the betrayal.

## Synonyms
- pardon
- absolution
- mercy
- clemency
- exoneration
- amnesty
- remission
- lenity

## Antonyms
- resentment
- retribution
- vengeance
- condemnation
- punishment

## Related Forms
- forgive
- forgiving
- give

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: forgiefan
- Root: giefan

## Etymology
From forgive (Old English forgiefan 'to give up, remit, pardon', from for- 'completely' plus giefan 'to give') plus the abstract suffix -ness; a calque on Latin perdonare. It denotes pardoning an offense.

## AI Etymology
Forgiveness comes from forgive (Old English forgiefan 'to give up, remit, pardon', from for- 'completely' plus giefan 'to give') plus the abstract suffix -ness; a calque on Latin perdonare. It denotes pardoning an offense. The etymological trail includes Old English forgiefan and Old English giefan. As a noun, forgiveness names the act of pardoning an offense or ceasing to feel resentment. The same family is visible in related forms such as forgive, forgiving, and give. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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