/ fəˈgɪv; NAmE fərˈgɪv/ verb ( for·gave / fəˈgeɪv; NAmE fərˈg-/, for·given / fəˈgɪvn; NAmE fərˈg-/)
1.
forgive sb / yourself (for sth / for doing sth) | forgive sb sth to stop feeling angry with sb who has done sth to harm, annoy or upset you; to stop feeling angry with yourself :
[ vn ]
I'll never forgive her for what she did.
I can't forgive that type of behaviour.
I'd never forgive myself if she heard the truth from someone else.
[ vnn ]
She'd forgive him anything.
[also v ]
2.
forgive me (for doing sth) | forgive my ... used to say in a polite way that you are sorry if what you are doing or saying seems rude or silly : [ vn ]
Forgive me, but I don't see that any of this concerns me.
Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly does the company do?
Forgive me for interrupting, but I really don't agree with that.
[ vn -ing ]
Forgive my interrupting but I really don't agree with that.
3.
( formal ) ( of a bank, country, etc. ) to say that sb does not need to pay back money that they have borrowed :
[ vn ]
The government has agreed to forgive a large part of the debt.
[also vnn ]
•
IDIOMS
- sb could / might be forgiven for doing sth
- forgive and forget
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English forgiefan , of Germanic origin, related to Dutch vergeven and German vergeben , and ultimately to for- and give .