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pardon

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Forgiveness for an offence.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

pahrduhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɑɹdən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Forgiveness for an offence.

verb

  1. transitive

    To forgive (a person).

  2. transitive

    To refrain from exacting as a penalty.

  3. transitivelaw

    To grant an official pardon for a crime.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

free pardonbeg pardonask pardongeneral pardonfull pardon

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • free pardonnounCompound term

    The formal act of liberating someone.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to forgive (a person)

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.