pardon

pardon — verb

1. to stop being annoyed with someone for a small mistake or rudeness, especially a

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to stop being annoyed with someone for a small mistake or rudeness, especially as a polite way of softening what you say next.

Example

Pardon me for interrupting, but your taxi to the airport is waiting outside.

pardon me for + -ing as polite preface

You must pardon Grandma if she calls you by the wrong name.

pardon + someone + if-clause

Common collocations
  • pardon me
  • pardon my interruption
  • pardon the mess
  • pardon my French
  • you'll have to pardon
Synonyms
  • excuse

    more common in everyday speech; 'excuse me' is neutral, 'pardon me' sounds slightly more formal

  • forgive

    covers bigger emotional hurts; 'pardon' stays at small social offences

  • overlook

    you choose to ignore the fault rather than formally release the person from blame

Antonyms
  • blame

    the opposite move: holding someone responsible instead of letting it pass

Grammar Patterns

pardon + someone

pardon + someone + for + -ing

Usage Note

Frequently appears in fixed polite formulas: 'pardon me', 'pardon my French', 'if you'll pardon the expression'. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is everyday social politeness and never involves courts or official punishment.

Common Mistakes

I pardon you for being late.
Please pardon me for being late.
speakers normally ask to be pardoned themselves; granting pardon to others sounds odd outside the legal sense.
Pardon to interrupt.
Pardon me for interrupting.
the verb takes -ing form, not a bare to-infinitive.

2. (of a head of state, governor, or court) to use legal power to free someone from

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

(of a head of state, governor, or court) to use legal power to free someone from the punishment given for a crime, so that the conviction no longer applies.

Example

The president pardoned three soldiers who had been jailed for refusing to fight.

subject = head of state; object = convicted person

After new evidence came to light, the governor agreed to pardon the wrongly convicted nurse.

pardon + someone after new evidence

Common collocations
  • pardon a prisoner
  • pardon the convicted
  • pardon protesters
  • be officially pardoned
  • pardon and release
Synonyms
  • absolve

    more abstract / religious; pardon is the concrete legal act

  • exonerate

    implies the person was innocent all along; pardon can apply even when guilt is admitted

  • reprieve

    delays or suspends punishment rather than cancelling the conviction

Antonyms
  • convict

    the opposing legal act of finding someone guilty

  • punish

    to enforce the penalty rather than release from it

Grammar Patterns

pardon + someone

be pardoned (by + authority)

Usage Note

Subject is almost always a president, monarch, governor, or court — not a private individual. Frequently passive ('was pardoned'). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense always involves a real conviction and the formal cancelling of a state penalty.

Common Mistakes

My boss pardoned me for arriving late.
My boss forgave me for arriving late.
only state authorities pardon people in this legal sense.
The judge pardoned the parking fine.
The judge cancelled the parking fine.
'pardon' acts on the offender, not directly on the fine itself.

pardon — noun

pardon — exclamation

Word family

  • pardonable
    adjectiveC2
  • unpardonable
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words mean to stop holding a small fault against someone, but they sit at different points on the politeness and weight scale. 'Excuse' is the most everyday: 'Excuse me' works in any situation, from squeezing past a stranger to interrupting a meeting. 'Pardon' carries a slightly older, more formal flavour and is heard most often in fixed phrases like 'pardon me', 'pardon my French', or 'if you'll pardon the expression'. 'Forgive' takes you into emotionally heavier territory — you forgive a betrayal or a deep hurt, not someone bumping your elbow. 'Overlook' is different again: you notice the fault but choose to ignore it without any apology being exchanged. Compare: 'Pardon me for being late' (polite), 'Excuse me for being late' (neutral everyday), 'Please forgive me for missing your wedding' (serious), and 'The teacher overlooked the small spelling mistakes' (chose to ignore).

pardon ↗excuse ↗forgive ↗overlook ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • presidential pardon
  • royal pardon
  • full pardon
  • conditional pardon
  • pardon me
  • pardon my French

Adverbs

  • officially pardon
  • fully pardon
  • posthumously pardon

Phrases

  • I beg your pardon
  • if you'll pardon the expression
  • grant a pardon
  • seek a pardon
  • pardon the interruption

Prepositions

  • pardon for (a crime/offence)
  • pardon from (a king/president)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

'Pardon' came into English in the 1300s from Old French 'pardoner', meaning to forgive or release from a debt. The French word was built on Late Latin 'perdonare', combining 'per-' (thoroughly) with 'donare' (to give) — literally 'to give thoroughly', that is, to grant something fully and freely, including the cancelling of a debt or fault. The same Latin root sits behind 'donate' and 'donor'. By the 1400s the word was used in English both for ordinary social forgiveness and for the specifically legal act of a king releasing a subject from punishment, and both senses survive today.