as in excusable
worthy of forgiveness
accidentally spilling your coffee on my newspaper is certainly a forgivable mishap
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Recent Examples of forgivable
The program, known as PPP, was intended to provide businesses forgivable loans to keep workers on their payrolls while they were shut down or operating at a loss because of public-health restrictions.
—
John Kelly, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
There can be an argument as to what qualifies as forgivable.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 29 Nov. 2025
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, created the Paycheck Protection Program, which provided WisconsinEye with a $112,000 forgivable loan, helping keep the network afloat.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 20 Nov. 2025
In the United States, the Paycheck Protection Program directed nearly $800 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses.
—Ugo Troiano, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
And not much in these pages is forgivable.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
While occasional tardiness is forgivable, consistent lateness can start to chip away at even the strongest friendships.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
The Paycheck Protection Program – which was administered by the Small Business Administration as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act – provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other qualified business expenses.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
There must be more options such as grants and forgivable loans from the federal government to help small businesses get back on their feet after disaster, Jaskson said.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2025
John Kelly, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025
There can be an argument as to what qualifies as forgivable.
—Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 29 Nov. 2025
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES, created the Paycheck Protection Program, which provided WisconsinEye with a $112,000 forgivable loan, helping keep the network afloat.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 20 Nov. 2025
In the United States, the Paycheck Protection Program directed nearly $800 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses.
—Ugo Troiano, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
And not much in these pages is forgivable.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
While occasional tardiness is forgivable, consistent lateness can start to chip away at even the strongest friendships.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025
The Paycheck Protection Program – which was administered by the Small Business Administration as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act – provided forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other qualified business expenses.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 25 Sep. 2025
There must be more options such as grants and forgivable loans from the federal government to help small businesses get back on their feet after disaster, Jaskson said.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forgivable
Adjective
-
Tottenham are in a poor run of form and playing and coaching staff alike are feeling the pressure, so expressions of frustration are to some extent natural and excusable, but there’s a continued and underlying sense of ill-discipline plaguing Frank’s first season in charge.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
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Too many Republicans today seem to have a different idea, that bad behavior is excusable so long as the perpetrator is advancing their priorities.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The number of killings investigated last year fell to 67, with 57 of those categorized as murders — excluding cases such as justifiable homicides — a total not seen since 1967, according to data compiled by this news organization.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
-
The joke isn’t on the protagonists for feeling justifiable feelings.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But in this instance, the breach is entirely pardonable, because these two men, Jun and Arthur, have just gotten married.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Aug. 2025
-
All this is to say that any excesses of enthusiasm for Friday (and Thursday) might seem pardonable, although each day reached the thermal pinnacle of the 80s.—
Martin Weil,
Washington Post,
19 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Forgivable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forgivable. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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