condone
/kənˈdoʊn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To forgive, excuse or overlook (something that is considered morally wrong, offensive, or generally disliked).
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police[…]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?"
- "Rule-utilitarianism is unlikely to condone torturing a child, but it does imply that the torturing of a child is less evil if the torturer shares his pleasure with other sadists-perhaps by inviting an audience, or broadcasting it on the Internet."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin condōnāre (“to forgive”).
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kənˈdoʊn/
- British English: /kənˈdəʊn/