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Definition 2024


forgive_and_forget

forgive and forget

English

Verb

forgive and forget (third-person singular simple present forgives and forgets, present participle forgiving and forgetting, simple past forgave and forgot, past participle forgiven and forgotten)

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) Absolve completely for a past wrongdoing; pardon with neither resentment nor a view to retribution.
    • 1875, Wilkie Collins, The law and the lady, page 33:
      "We will go away in the yacht. Does it matter where we live, so long as we live for each other? Forgive and forget! Oh, Valeria, Valeria, forgive and forget!"
    • 2002, Jack Womack, Going, Going, Gone, page 73:
      'Not long before he died, the old man disowned him. Then a year and a half ago mom forgave and forgot.'