condonation means the condoning of an offence. It carries an Arena rating of 1452, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, condonation ranks #2,016 of 12,956 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,143 of 12,956 for Most Storied Words, #2,330 of 12,953 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #4,014 of 12,835 for Most Ponderous Words.
Why “condonation” is a great word
The act of forgiving, overlooking, or pardoning an offense, often a marital wrong, by accepting it with full knowledge and continuing the relationship. From Latin *condōnātiōnem*, a giving away or pardoning, from *condōnāre*, to give away, to pardon; first attested in English 1615–25. Unlike acquittal, a court's formal declaration of innocence, or absolution, a priestly remission of sin, condonation is a secular and often burdened acceptance, a private transaction that trades grievance for precarious peace. It is the silent decision to look past the bruise, the resumption of shared meals after the discovery of a debt, the weary turning over in a bed whose other side has been violated—a conscious purchase of present quiet with the currency of future resentment.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin condōnātiō, condōnātiōnem. Equivalent to condone + -ation.
noun
- The condoning of an offence.“After a time it was generally assumed that he could no longer be ignorant, and that his condonation of her behaviour was a further caution to silence.”
- The forgiveness of matrimonial infidelity.
- A legal defense made when an accuser had forgiven or chosen to ignore an act about which they were legally complaining.
Words closest in meaning
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