forgiving
adjective, noun, verb
forgiving is spelled F-O-R-G-I-V-I-N-G: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, forgiving means “Inclined to forgive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in forgiving?
| Letters | 9: F-O-R-G-I-V-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words; the 15,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is forgiving?
Forgiving appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce forgiving?
Forgiving has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of forgiving
- more forgiving comparative
- most forgiving superlative
- forgivings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does forgiving mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Inclined to forgive.
I am inclined to take a forgiving attitude, since this is his first offence.
- 2
User-friendly, such that harmful mistakes are not easily made.
noun
- 1
An act of forgiveness.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of forgive
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forgiving in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense inclined to forgive:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | nachsichtig |
| Portuguese | indulgente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.