Definitions for forgive
fərˈgɪvfor·give

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. forgive(verb)

   stop blaming or grant forgiveness

   "I forgave him his infidelity"; "She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday"

2. forgive(verb)

   absolve from payment

   "I forgive you your debt"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. forgive(Verb)

   To pardon, to waive any negative feeling or desire for punishment.

   Only the brave know how to forgive...A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature. - Laurence Sterne

   Etymology: forgiven, from forgiefan, corresponding to . Cognate with vergeven, vergeben.

2. forgive(Verb)

   To accord forgiveness.

   Etymology: forgiven, from forgiefan, corresponding to . Cognate with vergeven, vergeben.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Forgive(verb)

   to give wholly; to make over without reservation; to resign

2. Forgive(verb)

   to give up resentment or claim to requital on account of (an offense or wrong); to remit the penalty of; to pardon; -- said in reference to the act forgiven

3. Forgive(verb)

   to cease to feel resentment against, on account of wrong committed; to give up claim to requital from or retribution upon (an offender); to absolve; to pardon; -- said of the person offending

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Forgive

   Forgive is the second studio album by American country music artist Rebecca Lynn Howard. The album was released in September 2002 by MCA Nashville. The only single released from the project, the title track, peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, and was her only Top 40 country hit. "Jesus and Bartenders" was later recorded by Daryle Singletary, who released it in 2008 as a single from his album Straight from the Heart. It was originally recorded by Larry Cordle on his album Murder on Music Row.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Forgive

   for-giv′, v.t. to pardon: to overlook an offence or debt: (Spens.) to give up.—v.i. to be merciful or forgiving.—adj. Forgiv′able, capable of being forgiven.—n. Forgive′ness, pardon: remission: disposition to pardon.—adj. Forgiv′ing, ready to pardon: merciful: compassionate. [A.S. forgiefan—pfx. for-, away, giefan, to give; cf. Ger. ver-geben.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. forgive

   To change and release a feeling, emotion or perception and receive a form of communication, enlightenment, inspiration, knowing or understanding of the root cause of a behavior, expression or spoken word and how it is intended and perceived in that moment so all effected can achieve peace.

   We met the driver of the car of which was involved in an accident where our mother metaphorically left this planet and both our families and listened to how we all felt, our perception and our parent's intent of that moment and instantly forgave each other so we could all have closure with respect for the collective and individual intent, emotions, feelings and perceptions felt and expressed following this event.

   Submitted by MaryC on December 4, 2015  

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'forgive' in Written Corpus Frequency: #4197

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'forgive' in Verbs Frequency: #714

How to pronounce forgive?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say forgive in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of forgive in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of forgive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of forgive in a Sentence

1. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891:

   Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.

2. Christina Tosi:

   Sometimes, brown-butter Rice Krispie Treats sneak in and try to start trying to pull me out of quiet ‘me time,’ it’s not the worst thing in the world, but it happens. I believe that there’s plenty of time for any and every relationship that I might need or want to feed in a day, as long as I set realistic expectations, communicate and forgive myself when I fall short.

3. Kevin Gilliland:

   In order for our hearts to heal, forgiveness is essential. Realize that forgiveness is for us, not them. It is unfortunate that someone caused us harm but holding on to the negative feelings towards that person is only hurting ourselves. Forgiveness takes practice and is not always a one-time decision, we may need to forgive some offenses every day, until we start remembering the offense less and less.

4. George Bernard Shaw:

   I can't forgive my friends for dying I don't find these vanishing acts of theirs at all amusing.

5. Unknown:

   We are all instantly forgiven but in order to benefit from this forgiveness, we must in turn forgive others and ourselves.

Images & Illustrations of forgive

Popularity rank by frequency of use