Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - forgive

(forgives, forgiving, forgave, forgiven) 1. If you forgive someone who has done something bad or wrong, you stop being angry with them and no longer want to punish them. Hopefully she’ll understand and forgive you, if she really loves you... She’d find a way to forgive him for the theft of the money... Still, for those flashes of genius, you can forgive him anything. VERB: V n, V n for n/-ing, V n n, also V 2. If you say that someone could be forgiven for doing something, you mean that they were wrong or mistaken, but not seriously, because many people would have done the same thing in those circumstances. Looking at the figures, you could be forgiven for thinking the recession is already over... V-PASSIVE: be V-ed for -ing/n 3. Forgive is used in polite expressions and apologies like ‘forgive me’ and ‘forgive my ignorance’ when you are saying or doing something that might seem rude, silly, or complicated. Forgive me, I don’t mean to insult you... I do hope you’ll forgive me but I’ve got to leave... ‘Forgive my manners,’ she said calmly. ‘I neglected to introduce myself.’ VERB: V n, V n, V n c darkgreen]politeness 4. If an organization such as a bank forgives someone’s debt, they agree not to ask for that money to be repaid. The American Congress has agreed to forgive Egypt’s military debt. VERB: V n