What does pardoning mean?
Pardoning is the act of forgiving someone or granting them mercy, especially after an offence or wrongdoing. In general use, it may describe a personal decision not to hold a wrong against another person. In legal and political contexts, pardoning has a more specific meaning: a person authorized to grant clemency formally exempts an offender from punishment or helps bring about the reversal or reduction of a sentence. The word often carries a weighty, formal tone because it suggests deliberate compassion and the suspension or cancellation of blame. It can also have negative connotations when the act of forgiveness appears unjustified or politically motivated. As a present participle, pardoning can describe either an ongoing personal response, as in “She was still pardoning him,” or the formal granting of clemency.
verb (present participle and gerund)The act of forgiving an offence or showing mercy to someone who has wronged another. In legal contexts, it also means officially exempting a person from punishment or granting a pardon.
- Forgiving an offence or showing mercy to a person who has caused harm.
- Officially exempting someone from punishment, especially through a legal pardon.
"The governor spent years pardoning convicted drug offenders who had served most of their sentences."
"Her forgiving nature led her to consider pardoning him after he sincerely apologized."
"The new president began by pardoning several convicted prisoners convicted of nonviolent offenses."
Behind pardoning is the Latin idea of giving: perdonare combines a prefix meaning “completely” with donare, “to give.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pardoning come from?
Pardoning comes from the English verb pardon, which entered Middle English from Old French pardon and pardoner. These forms were borrowed from Medieval Latin perdonare, used for forgiving or remitting an offence. Latin perdonare was formed from the prefix per-, conveying completeness, and donare, meaning “to give,” linking the word’s history to related forms such as condone and donor.
Related word forms
How pardoning is actually used
Pardoning is formal in legal contexts but can also be used in ordinary discussion of personal forgiveness. American pronunciation commonly includes the linking r, while British pronunciation usually does not.
Easily confused with pardoning
A pardon is the act or decision that forgives or exempts someone; pardoning is the action of granting that forgiveness or exemption.