Word
forgiven
Phoneticsfor·giv·en
US/fɝˈɡɪvən/
UK/fəɡˈɪvən/
Definition
v. to stop feeling angry at someone who did something wrong to you. It means you decide to move on and not punish them.
v. the past participle of 'forgive', meaning to cease to feel resentment against an offender. Often used in passive constructions or perfect tenses to indicate the absolution of a debt or mistake.
Examples
“I have forgiven him for his mistake.”
“She felt much lighter after she had finally forgiven her brother for losing her favorite book.”
“While the debt was legally forgiven by the bank, the emotional toll of the bankruptcy remained a heavy burden for the family for many years to follow.”
Examples
simple
“I have forgiven him for his mistake.”
contextual
“She felt much lighter after she had finally forgiven her brother for losing her favorite book.”
complex
“While the debt was legally forgiven by the bank, the emotional toll of the bankruptcy remained a heavy burden for the family for many years to follow.”
Usage
The past participle of the irregular verb 'forgive'. Often takes the preposition 'for' to indicate the reason for the pardon.
Pitfall
I have forgave him
I have forgiven him
Learners often confuse the simple past 'forgave' with the past participle 'forgiven' in perfect tenses.
Etymology
Morphologically forgive + -n.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/forgiven