INDEX:
1. to forgive someone
2. what you say to tell someone that you forgive them
3. behaviour that cannot be forgiven
4. to refuse to forgive someone
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ SORRY/APOLOGIZE
↑ BLAME
↑ PUNISH
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1. to forgive someone
▷ forgive /fəʳˈgɪv/ [intransitive/transitive verb not in progressive]
to stop being angry with someone for something bad they have done, especially when they have upset you or done something unkind :
▪ He’s not the kind of person who is quick to forgive.
▪ Please forgive me -- it was a complete accident.
▪ Hugh found his wife’s behaviour hard to forgive.
forgive somebody for something
▪ He had lied to me, and I couldn’t forgive him for that.
forgive somebody something
▪ I could understand her being angry, but I’ll still never forgive her the way she treated me afterwards.
forgiving [adjective]
able to forgive people easily :
▪ He is a forgiving man who accepted the apologies of the men who attacked him.
▷ excuse /ɪkˈskjuːz/ [transitive verb not in progressive]
to forgive a small fault such as carelessness, rudeness, lateness etc :
▪ Excuse my brother if he talks too much, he’s rather excitable.
▪ I didn’t realize this was a formal party, so I hope you can excuse my appearance.
▷ pardon /ˈpɑːʳdn/ [transitive verb not in progressive] formal
to forgive someone for something that is not serious, such as impolite or bad-tempered behaviour :
▪ Pardon the mess -- I got home late last night and didn’t have time to clean up.
pardon somebody for something
▪ I am so sorry about that, Mr Judd. Please pardon my daughter for her little outburst.
▷ forgive and forget /fəʳˌgɪv ənd fəʳˈget/ []
to forgive someone for something that happened in the past, usually a long time ago :
▪ You two haven’t said a word to each other for a year now. Don’t you think it’s time to forgive and forget?
▪ Angela’s father was not a man who found it easy to forgive and forget.
▷ let bygones be bygones /let ˌbaɪgɒnz biː ˈbaɪgɒnzǁ-gɔːnz-/ [verb phrase] spoken
to forgive someone for something bad they did to you in the past, and stop being unfriendly towards them :
▪ Why don’t we let bygones be bygones and forget about the whole thing?
2. what you say to tell someone that you forgive them
▷ it’s all right/OK /ɪts ˌɔːl ˈraɪt, ˌəʊ ˈkeɪ/ spoken
say this when someone has said that they are sorry for something they did :
▪ ‘Sorry I didn’t phone you last week.’ ‘That’s OK - I know how busy you’ve been.’
▪ ‘I must apologize for keeping you waiting so long.’ ‘That’s all right.’
▷ forget it /fəʳˈget ɪt/ spoken informal
say this to tell someone that you do not blame them for something, and that they should not worry about it any more :
▪ ‘I feel so bad about upsetting your plans.’ ‘Oh, forget it. it really doesn’t matter.’
▷ never mind /ˌnevəʳ ˈmaɪnd/ spoken
say this when someone says they are sorry that they made a mistake or forgot something, and you want to tell them not to worry :
▪ ‘Please forgive me for losing your book.’ ‘Oh, never mind. I have another copy.’
▷ don’t give it another thought /dəʊnt ˌgɪv ɪt əˌnʌðəʳ ˈθɔːt/ spoken
say this when someone says they are sorry, and you want to tell them politely that there is no need to be sorry :
▪ ‘I’m sorry we had to cancel the party.’ ‘Oh, please don’t give it another thought. It wasn’t your fault that you were ill!’
▷ no hard feelings /ˌnəʊ hɑːʳd ˈfiːlɪŋz/ spoken informal
say this when you want to tell someone that you are not angry with them, even though they have upset you or you have quarrelled with them :
▪ No hard feelings, Stu. You had every right to be angry with me.
3. behaviour that cannot be forgiven
▷ unforgivable/unforgiveable /ˌʌnfəʳˈgɪvəb ə l◂/ [adjective]
behaviour that is unforgivable is so bad that you cannot forgive it :
▪ The way you spoke to your mother was unforgivable.
▪ It was an unforgiveable thing to do.
▷ inexcusable /ˌɪnɪkˈskjuːzəb ə l/ [adjective]
an action or situation that is inexcusable cannot be excused and someone must be blamed for it, because there is no good reason for it :
▪ Anyone can make a mistake, but to ignore basic safety regulations is quite inexcusable.
it is inexcusable that
▪ It is inexcusable that the government has never paid a cent to the widows of these brave men.
inexcusably [adverb]
▪ When you consider the cost of the meal, the service in the restaurant was inexcusably poor.
4. to refuse to forgive someone
▷ never forgive /ˌnevəʳ fəʳˈgɪv/ [verb phrase]
to refuse to forgive someone, because they have done something very bad :
never forgive somebody for something
▪ She never really forgave Roy for what he said.
never forgive yourself
▪ I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to the children while I was out.
▷ bear/hold a grudge /ˌbeər, ˌhəʊld ə ˈgrʌdʒ/ [verb phrase]
to continue to feel angry with someone for a long time because they treated you badly in the past :
▪ Coughlan loved to argue but he never held a grudge.
bear/hold a grudge against
▪ Can you think of anyone who might bear a grudge against you?
▪ Police believe the suspect held a grudge against the federal government.
▷ hold it against /ˌhəʊld ɪt əˈgenst/ [verb phrase]
to dislike someone because of something they did in the past, even though it is no longer important :
▪ Look, he made one mistake - you can’t hold it against him for the rest of his life.