Standard Lemma guide

forgivable

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F AO0 R G IH1 V AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: F ER0 G IH1 V AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Able to be forgiven; worthy of forgiveness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excusable, pardonable, venial, remissable

Antonyms: unforgivable, unvenial

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of a loan, or a portion of it: such that repayment may be deferred for a period, or canceled, by the lender, if the borrower meets certain obligations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: business, finance

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

easily excused or forgiven

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a venial error

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excusable, venial

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From forgive + -able. Partially displaced non-native Middle English pardonable (“capable of being pardoned, forgivable”) from Old French pardonable (“forgivable”).

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: простим (prostim) — able to be forgiven
  • Danish: tilgivelig — able to be forgiven
  • Dutch: vergeeflijk — able to be forgiven
  • Esperanto: pardonebla — able to be forgiven
  • Finnish: anteeksiannettava — able to be forgiven
  • French: pardonnable — able to be forgiven
  • French: excusable — able to be forgiven
  • French: véniel — able to be forgiven
  • German: verzeihlich — able to be forgiven
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tilgivelig — able to be forgiven
  • Polish: wybaczalny — able to be forgiven
  • Portuguese: perdoável — able to be forgiven
  • Romanian: iertabil — able to be forgiven
  • Romanian: scuzabil — able to be forgiven
  • Russian: прости́тельный (prostítelʹnyj) — able to be forgiven
  • Swedish: förlåtlig — able to be forgiven