condone

verb

kən-ˈdōn How to pronounce condone (audio)
Definition of condonenext
as in to ignore
to dismiss as of little importance he is too quick to condone his friend's faults

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb condone differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of condone are excuse, forgive, and pardon. While all these words mean "to exact neither punishment nor redress," condone implies that one overlooks without censure behavior (such as dishonesty or violence) that involves a serious breach of a moral, ethical, or legal code, and the term may refer to the behavior or to the agent responsible for it.

a society that condones alcohol but not narcotics

When would excuse be a good substitute for condone?

The words excuse and condone are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, excuse may refer to specific acts especially in social or conventional situations or the person responsible for these. Often the term implies extenuating circumstances.

excuse an interruption
excused them for interrupting
injustice excuses strong responses

When is forgive a more appropriate choice than condone?

Although the words forgive and condone have much in common, forgive implies that one gives up all claim to requital and to resentment or vengeful feelings.

could not forgive their rudeness

When can pardon be used instead of condone?

The synonyms pardon and condone are sometimes interchangeable, but pardon implies that one remits a penalty due for an admitted or established offense.

pardon a criminal

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 condone Of course, the vast majority of these conscious-community figures aren’t leading cults, breaking laws, or condoning anyone who is, but there’s an openness to unconventional beliefs and conspiracy theories that the more predatory characters take advantage of. —David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025 Bosses who encouraged and condoned such attempts to evade the feds typically faced no repercussions. —Robin Abcarian, The Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2025 This Court will not condone such blatant disregard for the judicial process. —David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025 The program did not condone or include any violence. —Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for condone
Recent Examples of Synonyms for condone
  1. ignore
  2. forgive
  3. overlook
  4. justify
  5. explain
  6. excuse
Verb
  • Wallen briefly hugged the actress but seemed to ignore the rest of the cast and quickly walked past view of the camera.
    — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
  • However, Catherine was unimpressed by him going overboard — and ignoring the importance of bedside manner — in the clinic.
    — Stephanie Wenger, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • Fans have not forgiven him for trading a global superstar in the prime of his career.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins.
    — Asher Notheis, The Washington Examiner, 13 Apr. 2025
Definition of forgive
Verb
  • The mission began in fairly standard form: The SEALs infiltrated a bleak and dusty corner of Ramadi that happened to overlook a marketplace and, unbeknownst to them, also sat across from the lair of the Iraqi insurgents.
    — Fred Schruers, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The dining area opens onto a balcony overlooking Piazza San Babila.
    — Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 9 Apr. 2025
Definition of overlook
Verb
  • The myth that trans women are a danger to cis women is a grossly transphobic stereotype with almost no real-world justification, but Rowling pins most of her anti-trans arguments on it, using her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse to justify her prejudice.
    — Aja Romano, Vox, 18 Apr. 2025
  • The funding freezes and cuts have been imposed before the completion of full investigations, and different legal rationales have been offered to justify them.
    — Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of justify
Verb
  • Figure explains that this decision was made to maintain tight control over robot quality, production efficiency, and performance.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 16 Mar. 2025
  • This effect could explain why telescopes detect more galaxies rotating opposite to Earth’s motion than expected.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 16 Mar. 2025
Definition of explain
Verb
  • Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2025
  • The 2025 Masters is here, and more than Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele will be on display this week at Augusta National Golf Club for all the fans — excuse us, patrons — to bear witness to.
    — Hugh Kellenberger, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Definition of excuse

Browse Nearby Words

condonations
condone
condoned
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Condone.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/condone. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on condone

Nglish: Translation of condone for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Words in Disguise: Do these seem familiar?

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

'Blue Moon,' 'Wolf Moon,' and Other Moons to Look for Throughout the Year
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name that thing flower edition
Name That Flower Can you tell the difference between a lilac and a...
See All