PARDONING Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

pardoning 1 of 2

adjective

as in remitting

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Dissimilar Words

pardoning

2 of 2

verb

present participle of pardon

as in forgiving

to cease to have feelings of anger or bitterness toward he eventually pardoned his sister after she apologized

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in ignoring

to dismiss as of little importance I'm willing to pardon a little sloppiness of dress in such a kind and loving person

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pardoning

Verb

The million-dollar question concerned the Thanksgiving tradition of the president pardoning two turkeys. — Hilary Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 30 July 2026 President Bill Clinton came under fire for pardoning former hedge-fund manager Marc Rich, and President Joe Biden was roundly criticized for pardoning his son, Hunter, as well as preemptively pardoning other family members. — Ryan Lucas, NPR, 13 May 2026 The Democrats have signaled that they are united in opposition to any talk of pardoning Maxwell. — Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2026 His legal restoration began in 2020 with Trump pardoning him for lying to the FBI. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026 Trump has repeatedly and publicly called for her release since his return to office last year, and he’s castigated Polis for not pardoning her or transferring her into federal custody. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2026 In response to a request for comment about the recent social media campaign, a White House spokesperson reiterated to Fortune that Trump has no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried. — Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026 Trump started his second presidency by pardoning the insurrectionists who’d wanted to unlawfully extend his first. — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 23 Feb. 2026 Nearly a century later, in 1977, Jimmy Carter helped mend the divisions plaguing the United States in the aftermath of the Vietnam War by pardoning those who had dodged the draft. — Bernadette Meyler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pardoning

Adjective

However, even after an officer is taken off the list, prosecutors still maintain those potentially exculpatory records.

— Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2026
Kohberger alleges that his attorneys withheld potentially exculpatory evidence, misled him about the consequences of pleading guilty and relied on threats and false promises to persuade him to accept the deal.

— Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 27 July 2026

Definition of exculpatory

Verb

Since the education minister's resignation, Modi has also spoken of forgiving those who had mocked the prime minister, an apparent effort to reconnect with younger audiences.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
Find the less desirable line, however, and the hole remains forgiving enough to leave a straightforward approach and an excellent chance to make par.

— Jeff Goudy, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of forgiving

Verb

But that didn’t stop him from taping interviews on Wednesday with various Chicago television newscasts from his downtown Chicago state office while ignoring follow-up requests from the Tribune.

— Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026
Adding on to this trend, 70% of employees avoid difficult conversations entirely, and 53% handle toxic situations by ignoring them.

— Jason Walker PsyD, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of ignoring

Verb

This gracious grand dame has possibly the best possible address in all of Stockholm, overlooking Strökajen Harbor in the city’s Norrmalm district, a short walk from the Royal Palace and the Old Town.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
Tourists take photos at a viewing platform overlooking coffee plantations on June 4, 2026 in Baoshan, Yunnan Province of China.

— Matthew Tan,Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of overlooking

Verb

Their background needs explaining, and there is less internal precedent for what success looks like.

— Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Creighton jokes, explaining that making the film accessible to people is far more interesting to her than some sort of contrived celebrity impact campaign.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of explaining

Verb

Steve Nesius | Reuters For analysts at Bernstein, Starship is the most important issue for SpaceX in justifying its valuation.

— Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
Organizations that approach agentic AI this way build foundational capabilities that span dozens of workflows and shift the ROI conversation from justifying each agent individually to achieving compounding returns across the enterprise.

— Joe Locandro, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of justifying

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“Pardoning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pardoning. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of pardoning

adjective

verb

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