pardon

pardon — verb

1. to stop being annoyed with someone for a small mistake or rudeness, especially a

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

to stop being annoyed with someone for a small mistake or rudeness, especially as a polite way of softening what you say next.

例句

Pardon me for interrupting, but your taxi to the airport is waiting outside.

pardon me for + -ing as polite preface

You must pardon Grandma if she calls you by the wrong name.

pardon + someone + if-clause

同義詞
  • excuse

    more common in everyday speech; 'excuse me' is neutral, 'pardon me' sounds slightly more formal

  • forgive

    covers bigger emotional hurts; 'pardon' stays at small social offences

  • overlook

    you choose to ignore the fault rather than formally release the person from blame

反義詞
  • blame

    the opposite move: holding someone responsible instead of letting it pass

文法句型

pardon + someone

pardon + someone + for + -ing

用法筆記

Frequently appears in fixed polite formulas: 'pardon me', 'pardon my French', 'if you'll pardon the expression'. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is everyday social politeness and never involves courts or official punishment.

常見錯誤

❌I pardon you for being late.
✅Please pardon me for being late.
💡speakers normally ask to be pardoned themselves; granting pardon to others sounds odd outside the legal sense.
❌Pardon to interrupt.
✅Pardon me for interrupting.
💡the verb takes -ing form, not a bare to-infinitive.

2. (of a head of state, governor, or court) to use legal power to free someone from

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

(of a head of state, governor, or court) to use legal power to free someone from the punishment given for a crime, so that the conviction no longer applies.

例句

The president pardoned three soldiers who had been jailed for refusing to fight.

subject = head of state; object = convicted person

After new evidence came to light, the governor agreed to pardon the wrongly convicted nurse.

pardon + someone after new evidence

同義詞
  • absolve

    more abstract / religious; pardon is the concrete legal act

  • exonerate

    implies the person was innocent all along; pardon can apply even when guilt is admitted

  • reprieve

    delays or suspends punishment rather than cancelling the conviction

反義詞
  • convict

    the opposing legal act of finding someone guilty

  • punish

    to enforce the penalty rather than release from it

文法句型

pardon + someone

be pardoned (by + authority)

用法筆記

Subject is almost always a president, monarch, governor, or court — not a private individual. Frequently passive ('was pardoned'). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense always involves a real conviction and the formal cancelling of a state penalty.

常見錯誤

❌My boss pardoned me for arriving late.
✅My boss forgave me for arriving late.
💡only state authorities pardon people in this legal sense.
❌The judge pardoned the parking fine.
✅The judge cancelled the parking fine.
💡'pardon' acts on the offender, not directly on the fine itself.

pardon — noun

pardon — exclamation