forgivable

forgivable
adjective bad behaviour that is forgivable is not seriously bad and you can easily forgive it: I suppose a little overexcitement is forgivable under the circumstances. forgive verb past tense forgave past participle forgiven /-'gIvFn/ (I, T)
1 to decide not to blame someone or be angry with them although they have done something wrong: Can you ever forgive me? | forgive sb for sth: I can't forgive him for what he did to my sister. | forgive sb sth: forgive us our sins | I'd never forgive myself: If anything happened to the kids I'd never forgive myself. | forgive and forget (=forgive someone for something and behave as if they had never done it)
2 forgive me spoken used when you are going to say something or ask something that might seem rude or offensive: Forgive me, Mr Lewis, but I don't think that is relevant. | forgive me for asking/saying etc: Forgive me for saying so, but I think that's nonsense.
3 sb could be forgiven for thinking/wondering/believing etc sth used to say that it is easy to understand why someone would think or believe something: A foreign visitor could be forgiven for thinking football is a religion in this country.

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Forgivable — For*giv a*ble, a. Capable of being forgiven; pardonable; venial. Sherwood. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • forgivable — index justifiable, pardonable Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • forgivable — (adj.) 1540s, from FORGIVE (Cf. forgive) + ABLE (Cf. able) …   Etymology dictionary

  • forgivable — [[t]fə(r)gɪ̱vəb(ə)l[/t]] ADJ GRADED If you say that something bad is forgivable, you mean that you can understand it and can forgive it in the circumstances. His sense of humour makes all else forgivable... This was a blunder by Mr Baker, but it… …   English dictionary

  • forgivable — for|giv|a|ble [fəˈgıvəbəl US fər ] adj if something bad is forgivable, you can understand how it happened and you can easily forgive it ≠ ↑unforgivable ▪ It was an easily forgivable mistake …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • forgivable — for|giv|a|ble [ fər gıvəbl ] adjective a forgivable action or fault is not very serious, and you can understand it and forgive it ─ opposite UNFORGIVABLE …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • forgivable — UK [fə(r)ˈɡɪvəb(ə)l] / US [fərˈɡɪvəb(ə)l] adjective a forgivable action or fault is not very serious, and you can understand it and forgive it …   English dictionary

  • forgivable — forgive ► VERB (past forgave; past part. forgiven) 1) stop feeling angry or resentful towards (someone) for an offence or mistake. 2) excuse (an offence, flaw, or mistake). DERIVATIVES forgivable adjective forgiver noun forgiving adjective …   English terms dictionary

  • forgivable — adjective see forgive …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • forgivable — See forgive. * * * …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”