What does condonation mean?
Condonation is the act of forgiving or deliberately overlooking an offense, treating it as though it had never happened. The word belongs chiefly to formal registers: it appears in legal contexts — most classically in matrimonial law, where a spouse's forgiveness of the other's misconduct could bar a later claim based on that misconduct — and in moral or institutional criticism, where to accuse an organization of condonation is to say it allowed wrongdoing to go unchecked. Unlike simple pardon, condonation often implies tacit acceptance rather than explicit absolution: silence, continued cohabitation, or failure to impose sanctions may all be read as condonation. It derives from the Latin 'condonare', meaning to give up or remit, via the verb condone, and its relatives include donation and pardon. Because it suggests complicity through inaction, condonation frequently appears in debates over institutional accountability, making it a precise and useful word for describing forgiveness that looks uncomfortably like permission.
The act of forgiving or overlooking an offense, especially tacitly or by treating it as if it had not occurred.
"The board's inaction was widely criticized as condonation of financial misconduct."
Often used with negative connotation in moral or institutional criticism, implying that wrong has been allowed to pass.
(Law) In matrimonial jurisprudence, the forgiveness by one spouse of the other's marital misconduct, which historically could bar a later petition for divorce or separation based on that conduct.
"Under ecclesiastical canon law, conjugal cohabitation after known adultery constituted condonation of the offense."
A technical term of historical legal significance, chiefly in discussions of English ecclesiastical and Victorian divorce law; less prominent in modern statutory frameworks.
Rare in the plural, as the word usually denotes a single act or doctrine; plural forms appear mainly in legal-historical discussion of multiple instances of forgiveness.
"Repeated condonations of the same offense eroded the credibility of the tribunal."
In old English divorce law, sleeping with your spouse after discovering their affair could legally count as 'condonation' — and thereby wipe the slate clean, at least on paper.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of condonation
Condonation comes from the Latin 'condonare', formed from 'con-' (together, thoroughly) and 'donare' (to give), meaning to give away, remit, or pardon. The word entered English in the early 17th century alongside the verb condone, initially in theological and legal writing before settling into its modern senses of overlooking an offense and, specifically, spousal forgiveness in matrimonial law. Its Latin root also gives us donation and donor, making condone and pardon distant cousins in the family of 'giving' words.
Related word forms
How condonation is actually used
Condonation is a formal, largely legal and ecclesiastical term; in everyday speech people more often say 'overlooking' or 'turning a blind eye'. It carries a slightly disapproving connotation when used figuratively, implying that wrongdoing has been allowed to pass unpunished.
Easily confused with condonation
Condonation means forgiving or overlooking an offense, whereas condolence is an expression of sympathy for someone's grief or loss.
Condensation is the physical process by which a gas becomes a liquid (or a text is shortened), entirely unrelated to the forgiveness implied by condonation.
Condone is the verb from which condonation derives; condonation is specifically the noun naming the act or instance of forgiving.