pardon
kind indulgence, as in forgiveness of an offense or discourtesy or in tolerance of a distraction or inconvenience: I beg your pardon, but which way is Spruce Street?
Law.
a release from the penalty of an offense; a remission of penalty, as by a governor.
the document by which such remission is declared.
forgiveness of a serious offense or offender.
Obsolete. a papal indulgence.
to make courteous allowance for or to excuse:Pardon me, madam.
to release (a person) from liability for an offense.
to remit the penalty of (an offense): The governor will not pardon your crime.
(used, with rising inflection, as an elliptical form of I beg your pardon, as when asking a speaker to repeat something not clearly heard or understood.)
Origin of pardon
1synonym study For pardon
Other words for pardon
Opposites for pardon
Other words from pardon
- par·don·a·ble, adjective
- par·don·a·ble·ness, noun
- par·don·a·bly, adverb
- par·don·less, adjective
- non·par·don·ing, adjective
- un·par·don·a·ble, adjective
- un·par·don·a·bly, adverb
- un·par·doned, adjective
- un·par·don·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with pardon
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pardon in a sentence
One of the Four was released in 2005, and the three others were offered conditional pardons by then-Gov.
And, finally, as a general matter the new process will have to be far more transparent than the old pardons processes ever were.
A Momentous Change for America’s Tortuous Drug Sentencing | Andrew Cohen | January 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs for the pardons announced this week, Nia said the names have yet to be confirmed.
Don’t Cheer Yet—Iran’s Opposition Activists Are Still Getting Crushed | Eli Lake | September 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYet A Thousand Pardons is ultimately not a big-canvas novel about public relations.
Judge Me Not: Jonathan Dee’s ‘A Thousand Pardons’ Reviewed | Benjamin Lytal | March 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTJonathan Dee's new novel, A Thousand Pardons, is not a successor to his Pulitzer-nominated breakout, The Privileges.
Judge Me Not: Jonathan Dee’s ‘A Thousand Pardons’ Reviewed | Benjamin Lytal | March 13, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Instead of the expected general amnesty, only a few special pardons were granted.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanYou have a lady here—I have nothing more to say; I only beg a million pardons for intruding.
Villa Rubein and Other Stories | John GalsworthyThe dispensation of pardons was not regulated by any uniform principles.
The History of Tasmania , Volume II (of 2) | John WestAnother great power of the President is the power of pardons and reprieves.
Ethics in Service | William Howard TaftUp to that moment when the terrible knowledge became hers she had a mother's hope that the pardons board must save her boy.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love | Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
British Dictionary definitions for pardon
/ (ˈpɑːdən) /
to excuse or forgive (a person) for (an offence, mistake, etc): to pardon someone; to pardon a fault
forgiveness; allowance
release from punishment for an offence
the warrant granting such release
a Roman Catholic indulgence
Also: pardon me, I beg your pardon
sorry; excuse me
what did you say?
Origin of pardon
1Derived forms of pardon
- pardonable, adjective
- pardonably, adverb
- pardonless, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with pardon
see beg to differ; excuse me.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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