Synonym Chooser

How does the verb condone differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of condone are excuse, forgive, and pardon. While all these words mean "to exact neither punishment nor redress," condone implies that one overlooks without censure behavior (such as dishonesty or violence) that involves a serious breach of a moral, ethical, or legal code, and the term may refer to the behavior or to the agent responsible for it.

a society that condones alcohol but not narcotics

When would excuse be a good substitute for condone?

The words excuse and condone are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, excuse may refer to specific acts especially in social or conventional situations or the person responsible for these. Often the term implies extenuating circumstances.

excuse an interruption
excused them for interrupting
injustice excuses strong responses

When is forgive a more appropriate choice than condone?

Although the words forgive and condone have much in common, forgive implies that one gives up all claim to requital and to resentment or vengeful feelings.

could not forgive their rudeness

When can pardon be used instead of condone?

The synonyms pardon and condone are sometimes interchangeable, but pardon implies that one remits a penalty due for an admitted or established offense.

pardon a criminal

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of condone Forgiving someone does not mean excusing their behavior, condoning the betrayal or forgetting what happened. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025 Constructive criticism is one thing, and threats, hate speech or even disturbance during training is another – this cannot be condoned. George Ramsay, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2025 The company doesn’t condone drug use at its facilities, but security teams are prepared to de-escalate situations where people might be overwhelmed, Gassien said. Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2025 This silence flies in the face of Oakland’s rich civil rights history and is tantamount to condoning hate. Mark Cohen, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for condone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for condone
Verb
  • What can also be said with certainty, however, is that — even ignoring, for one moment, the events that brought him to Chelmsford crown court in Essex, east of London — this is a story of what might have been.
    Stuart James, New York Times, 6 June 2025
  • And while the shelter has been sharing his story for months now, the cat with soulful eyes keeps getting ignored.
    TJ Macias, Miami Herald, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • Employees trust them more, and citizens are more likely to forgive their mistakes.
    Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
  • Viewers could be forgiven for looking ahead to the second set.
    Sean Gregory, Time, 7 June 2025
Verb
  • Ultimately, this creates blind spots that limit innovation and overlook entire categories of opportunity.
    Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • In addition to the eight hundred thousand dead, another casualty of the Civil War that’s often overlooked was civil liberties.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Verb
  • But as cloud spend goes up, the need to justify cost efforts and demonstrate cost avoidance to execs will increase.
    Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • His breezy accounts betray no anxiety to justify the expense of sending him around the world.
    Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • And as one dad recently shared on Reddit, the days of explaining things with talk of storks or other mythical tales are likely over.
    Christian Dashiell, Parents, 7 June 2025
  • Nivola in Lochlan’s season-ending near-death experience and Koch in a one-take episode in which Erik explains to his attorney the abuse within the Menendez household.
    Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 7 June 2025
Verb
  • Distraught over the proceedings, Shepperd excused herself to use the restroom.
    Ralphie Aversa, USA Today, 7 June 2025
  • After Chapman and police went into a lobby area outside the council room, a loud exchange is heard with Clark at one point excusing himself to step out of the council chambers.
    Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Condone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/condone. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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