Idiom
forgive but don't forget
Meaning
To pardon someone of wrongdoing while retaining awareness of their past behavior to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I forgive but don't forget when friends break my trust.”
“He apologized for the mistake, so I decided to forgive but don't forget to keep a closer eye on the budget.”
“While she chose to forgive but don't forget the betrayal, she remained cautious about entering into any further professional partnerships with him.”
Examples
simple
“I forgive but don't forget when friends break my trust.”
contextual
“He apologized for the mistake, so I decided to forgive but don't forget to keep a closer eye on the budget.”
complex
“While she chose to forgive but don't forget the betrayal, she remained cautious about entering into any further professional partnerships with him.”
Origin
The phrase is a variation of the older idiom *forgive and forget*, constructed as a deliberate modification of the earlier sentiment.
Key words
Related idioms
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