forgiving

adjective

for·​giv·​ing fər-ˈgi-viŋ 

fȯr-

1

: willing or able to forgive

2

: allowing room for error or weakness

designed to be a forgiving tennis racquet

forgivingly adverb

forgivingness noun

Example Sentences

a person with a forgiving nature

Recent Examples on the Web

Next season’s slate which will be a little more forgiving than a 2022 schedule that featured the gauntlet of consecutive games with Syracuse, NC State and Michigan in September. —Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 22 Dec. 2022

While the new data limits are in some ways more forgiving than Comcast's data cap, the change may be concerning to Starlink users who have already seen slower speeds in recent months. —Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2022

While the role is more forgiving than most in his repertory, there were challenges. —Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022

The supervising judge, Robert McBurney, alluded to this relatively forgiving standard during oral argument on the motion to release the special grand jury report. —Norm Eisen & Fred Wertheimer, CNN, 23 Feb. 2023

Is yet another bear-market rally coming to an ignominious end, or has the stock market entered a new and more forgiving paradigm? —James Mackintosh, WSJ, 22 Feb. 2023

While critics did not enjoy Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania very much, rating it as the second-worst MCU movie ever, fans have disagreed with much more forgiving audience scores. —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2023

However, the second-guessing over Shanahan not challenging Smith’s catch might not be as forgiving. —Candace Buckner, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Jan. 2023

For all of the triathletes, the course will be challenging because of the swim in Lake Michigan, which always has cool water temperatures and a breakwater in Milwaukee’s bay that can make the wave a little more forgiving. —Lori Nickel, Journal Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

forgiving

adjective

for·​giv·​ing

fər-ˈgiv-iŋ,

fȯr-

1

: showing forgiveness : inclined or ready to forgive

a person with a forgiving nature

2

: allowing for human error or weakness

a tennis racket designed to be forgiving

forgivingly adverb

forgivingness noun