pardon

From Middle English pardonen, from Old French pardoner (modern French pardonner), from Late Latin perdonare, from per- + donare, possibly a calque (if not vice-versa) of a Germanic word represented by Frankish *firgeban (“to forgive, give up completely”), from *fir- + *geban. Akin to Old High German fargeban, firgeban (“to forgive”), Old English forġiefan (“to forgive”). More at forgive.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑːdn̩/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑɹdn̩/, [ˈpʰɑ˞dn̩]

• Audio (General American):

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• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈpaːdɘn/, [ˈpʰäːɾɘn]
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dən
• Hyphenation: par‧don

pardon (countable and uncountable, plural pardons)

1. Forgiveness for an offence.

   Synonym: clemency

   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     […] a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends; […]

   • 1997, Denise Keyes Filios, Women Out of Bounds:

     According to this logic, the pardons Balteira gained on her pilgrimage should have revirginated her, and would have if she had an 'iron box', or a firm dedication to her Christian faith, with which to guard her chastity.”

2. (law) An order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.

   The President […] shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

   • 1974 September 8, Gerald R. Ford, 00:24 from the start, in Proclamation 4311‎^[1], archived from the original on 18 May 2017, page 2‎^[2]:

     NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July^{[sic – meaning January]} 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

   • 2001, Barbara Olson, “The Final Frenzy: Finishing Touches on the Legend”, in The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House‎^[3] (Politics/Current Affairs), Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7:

     But the president's most irreversible, almost God-like power is the authority granted to him under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, "to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses Against the United States. . . ."
     The power is absolute-even a serial killer could be pardoned-and utterly unreviewable. It cannot be rescinded by the next president. The president may grant a pardon before a trial, after a trial, or without a trial. Once granted, a pardon can never be taken away.

   • 2024 December 5, Marshall Cohen, MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, “Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for Trump’s perceived enemies”, in CNN‎^[4]:

     A source familiar with Trump legal strategy says his team believes Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has set a new precedent for presidents to issue expansive pardons to their children – and this could be something Trump chooses to do before he leaves office.

pardon (third-person singular simple present pardons, present participle pardoning, simple past and past participle pardoned)

1. (transitive) To forgive (a person).

   Synonym: amnesty

   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

   • 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], Emma: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC:

     I hope you will not find he has outstepped the truth more than may be pardoned, in consideration of the motive.

   • 1793 March 19, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana:

     Well! the King of France died pardoning & pitying all those who had tortured his Soul & Body, a great Pattern for us all.

   • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

     In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.

2. (transitive) To refrain from exacting as a penalty.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

3. (transitive, law) To grant an official pardon for a crime.
   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:

     The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

   • 2024 December 5, Marshall Cohen, MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, “Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for Trump’s perceived enemies”, in CNN‎^[5]:

     In that situation, that memo would include a list of individuals that Biden might consider pardoning preemptively, the context about any prior legal precedent, and a discussion of the wide range of potential ramifications if the president does move forward with these pardons.

   • 2025 March 28, Kevin Liptak, “Trump pardons Trevor Milton, who was accused of fraud related to bankrupt truck maker Nikola”, in CNN‎^[6]:

     President Donald Trump says he pardoned Trevor Milton, the CEO of now-defunct hydrogen and electric truck firm Nikola, in part because he believed Milton was persecuted for supporting Trump’s political ambitions.

pardon?

1. Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.

• See also Thesaurus:say again

• Padron

• pardón

• IPA^(key): [ˈpardon]

• Audio:

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pardon

1. sorry, I'm sorry, I beg your pardon, I apologize

   Synonyms: omlouvám se, promiňte, promiň, sorry, soráč

• “pardon”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “pardon”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Borrowed from French pardon.

• IPA^(key): /pɑrˈdɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: par‧don
• Rhymes: -ɔn

pardon

2. I'm sorry, pardon

• Negerhollands: pardon, bardon
• → Saramaccan: padón

pardon n (plural pardons, no diminutive)

2. (law) pardon, clemency

• Negerhollands: pardon, bardon

Deverbal from pardonner.

• IPA^(key): /paʁ.dɔ̃/

• Audio (France):

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• Audio (Quebec):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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pardon

1. excuse me
2. sorry

pardon m (plural pardons)

1. pardon, forgiveness

• demander pardon
• Grand Pardon

• “pardon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• pondra

From French pardon, primarily via German Pardon.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈpɒrdon]
• Hyphenation: par‧don
• Rhymes: -on

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

   Synonym: bocsánat

pardon

1. (dated, law) pardon

   Synonym: kegyelem

• pardon in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Borrowed from French pardon.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpar.dɔn/, /parˈdɔw̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ardɔn, -ɔw̃
• Syllabification: par‧don

pardon m inan

1. (dated) pardon, forgiveness

   Synonyms: przebaczenie, wybaczenie

pardon

1. (colloquial) sorry, excuse me, I beg your pardon

   Synonym: przepraszam

• pardon in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• pardon in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from French pardon.

• IPA^(key): /parˈdon/

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!

pardon n (uncountable)

1. (dated) pardon, pardoning, forgiveness, excuse

• iertare, scuză

• poftim

pardon c

1. (usually negated) mercy

   utan pardon ― without mercy

• nåd

• pardon in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• pardon in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• pardon in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• pandor

From Ottoman Turkish پاردون (pardon), from French pardon.

• IPA^(key): /pɑɾ.don/

pardon

1. pardon!, pardon me!, excuse me!, I beg your pardon!, sorry!