From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishforgivefor‧give /fəˈɡɪv $ fər-/ ●●○ verb (past tense forgave /-ˈɡeɪv/, past participle forgiven /-ˈɡɪvən/) [intransitive, transitive] 1 FORGIVEto stop being angry with someone and stop blaming them, although they have done something wrongforgive somebody for (doing) something I’ve tried to forgive him for what he said. He never forgave her for walking out on him.forgive myself/yourself etc If anything happened to the kids I’d never forgive myself.you’re forgiven spoken (=used to tell someone that you are not angry with them) ‘I’m really sorry.’ ‘It’s okay, you’re forgiven.’forgive somebody something God forgives us our sins. He didn’t look the sort of man to forgive and forget (=forgive someone and no longer think about it).GRAMMAR: Patterns with forgive• You forgive someone: Alright, I forgive you.• You forgive something: Please forgive his rudeness.• You forgive someone for something or for doing something: She lied and I can’t forgive her for that.Forgive me for not writing.• In literary or formal English, you can forgive someone something: Forgive us our trespasses. This pattern is not used in everyday English.2 → forgive me3 → somebody can be forgiven for thinking/believing/feeling etc something4 → forgive a debt/loan→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
forgive• If the young among us have no idea who he was, they should be forgiven.• He's not the kind of person who is quick to forgive.• Hugh found his wife's behaviour hard to forgive.• After several years of therapy, Deanna was finally able to forgive her father.• I could understand her being angry, but I'll still never forgive her the way she treated me afterwards.• He had lied to me, and I couldn't forgive him for that.• Please forgive me -- it was a complete accident.• He healed the sick, raised the dead, exercised authority over the evil spirits and forgave sins.• I will never forgive that doctor his callousness.• And as for those who destroyed my Sunday all those years ago, I shall never forgive them.forgive and forget• Angela's father was not a man who found it easy to forgive and forget.• Thousands of survivors were released and sent back to their villages amid exhortations to the nation to forgive and forget.• Three years on it's impossible to forgive and forget.• You two haven't said a word to each other for a year now. Don't you think it's time to forgive and forget?• But... when members of the same family quarrel, they are always ready to forgive and forget.• Can't you forgive and forget?• Coming down, you long to be forgiven and forget.• Hong Kong manufacturers depend almost entirely on export markets, many of which have been less willing to forgive and forget.• Hell, forgive and forget because it's all in a good cause.• Maybe you can forgive and forget , but I can't.• This means I will forgive and forget quickly.From Longman Business Dictionaryforgivefor‧give /fəˈgɪvfər-/ verb (past tense forgave /-ˈgeɪv/, past participle forgiven /-ˈgɪvən/) [transitive]FINANCE to state that a debt does not have to be paidUnder the plan, the US forgave $2.6 billion, or about 70%, of Poland’s debt to the US government. —forgiveness noun [uncountable]a comprehensive restructuring agreement that would include debt forgiveness→ See Verb tableOrigin forgive Old English forgifan 