# pardoned

/ˈpɑɹdənd/ (US) · /pˈɑːdənd/ (UK) · CEFR C1 · Adjective

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/pardoned
Updated: 2026-05-08

## Definition

forgiven for a crime or a mistake. When you are pardoned, you are officially allowed to go free without being punished.

For teachers: released from the legal consequences of a crime or conviction by an official authority. Often used predicatively after a linking verb or as a participial adjective.

## Examples

- The prisoner was pardoned after new evidence was found.
- The president decided that the activist should be pardoned to help heal the country's political divisions.
- Although he was eventually pardoned by the governor, the social stigma of his initial conviction made it difficult for him to find steady employment in his home town.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The judge pardoned to him." but "The judge pardoned him." — The verb form of pardon is transitive and takes a direct object without a preposition.

## Usage notes

- Often follows a linking verb like 'be' or 'get'; can also be used as a past participle in passive constructions.

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