FORGIVENESS • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Forgiveness

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/fərgˈɪvnəs/ /fɔrgˈɪvnəs/ Listen

noun

Forgiveness n.

The act of forgiving; the state of being forgiven; as, the forgiveness of sin or of injuries. "To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses." "In whom we have... the forgiveness of sin."

Disposition to pardon; willingness to forgive. "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."

Synonyms: Pardon, remission. Forgiveness, Pardon. Forgiveness is Anglo-Saxon, and pardon Norman French, both implying a giving back. The word pardon, being early used in our Bible, has, in religious matters, the same sense as forgiveness; but in the language of common life there is a difference between them, such as we often find between corresponding Anglo-Saxon and Norman words. Forgive points to inward feeling, and suppose alienated affection; when we ask forgiveness, we primarily seek the removal of anger. Pardon looks more to outward things or consequences, and is often applied to trifling matters, as when we beg pardon for interrupting a man, or for jostling him in a crowd. The civil magistrate also grants a pardon, and not forgiveness. The two words are, therefore, very clearly distinguished from each other in most cases which relate to the common concerns of life.

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Etymology of 'Forgiveness'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Forgiveness" Quotes from Famous Books

... No! Surely you are fully aware how he always sets his face against any attempt upon human life, and no one who has taken life has ever had his forgiveness," said Howell. "The Sparrow is our master—a fine and marvellous mind which has no equal in Europe. If he had gone into politics he could have been the greatest statesman of the age. But he is Il Passero, the man who directs affairs of every kind, and the man at the helm of every great enterprise. ...

— Mademoiselle of Monte Carlo • William Le Queux

... soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer, "Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping, And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, That I scarce was sure I heard you"—here I opened wide the door;— ...

— The Raven • Edgar Allan Poe

... pray that I may be forgiven all my manifold sins and wickedness, and I do beg forgiveness of all those whom I may have injured unintentionally or otherwise; and at the same time do pardon all those who may have done me wrong, even to John Jones, the turnpike man, who unjustly made ...

— Olla Podrida • Frederick Marryat (AKA Captain Marryat)

... guess?" she cried. "O, this is a dreadful business! Me and mine"—she gave a kind of wretched cry at the word,—"me and mine are not fit to speak to you. O, I could be kneeling down to you in the street, I could be kissing your hands for your forgiveness!" ...

— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 11 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson

... SURVEYOR: and the sketch which I am now bringing to a close, if too autobiographical for a modest person to publish in his lifetime, will readily be excused in a gentleman who writes from beyond the grave. Peace be with all the world! My blessing on my friends! My forgiveness to my enemies! For I am in the realm ...

— The Scarlet Letter • Nathaniel Hawthorne

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