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If you're among folks who don't condone even what they consider minor usage slips, you might want to hew to the more established meaning of condone. Although English speakers sometimes use condone to mean "encourage" or "approve of" (as in "officials accused of condoning corruption"), some people feel strongly that it should only mean something closer to "pardon" or "overlook." Condone comes from the Latin verb condonare, which means "to absolve." Condonare in turn combines the Latin prefix com-, indicating thoroughness, and donare, meaning "to give." Not surprisingly, donare is also the source of our words donate and pardon.
Examples of condone in a Sentence
Joshua Levine, Forbes, 21 Apr. 1997
Without waiting for Momma's thanks, he rode out of the yard, sure that things were as they should be and that he was a gentle squire, saving those deserving serfs from the laws of the land, which he condoned.
—Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969
And then she told him all—told him the truth word by word, without attempting to shield herself or condone her error.
—Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, 1912
a government that has been accused of condoning racism
he is too quick to condone his friend's faults
Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 23 June 2025
All this was condoned when not encouraged or even led by local and state officials, who funded murderous militias.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 23 Apr. 2025
Violence of any sort should not be condoned—but the conditions in the city never approached a 'rebellion' under any plausible meaning of the term.
—Sophie Clark, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025
The barra and its leaders do not condone any form of violence.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for condone
Cite this Entry
“Condone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condone. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
condone
verb
Legal Definition
Latin condonare to give away, absolve
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