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unforgiven

unforgiven

2 5.8
A wrong action that people still blame someone for and do not accept an apology
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnfərˈɡɪvən/
translation icon : no perdonado
  • The feeling of being unforgiven for his past mistakes haunted him for years.

Examples

  • Would I wake up tomorrow and look out my rear window at the parched garden plants and remain unforgiven?

    Fiction book (2001)
  • When one feels unforgiven, they perceive themselves as operating under a microscope.

    Blog text (25)
  • I was worried that my past would be unforgiven, that my temper and experience would be abandoned.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • And you will die contorted, and you will die unforgiven.

  • So when I left the confessional, I still felt unforgiven.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It sounds so tragic and unforgiven.

  • You could tell him the one thing that matters now: Listen, it won't be that long—unknown and unforgiven as I am, I want to live in my body somehow.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • After making a serious error in judgment, she felt completely unforgiven by her friends.

  • In that community, any wrongdoing is often left unforgiven, leading to lasting grudges.

Synonyms

unabsolved
vsunforgiven
1 9.6

Not forgiven and still feeling guilty

is not forgiven for wrongdoing without emphasizing blame or sin
unpardoned
vsunforgiven
7.7

Not officially forgiven for a crime or bad act

is not forgiven for an offense generally rather than as an official matter
unshriven
vsunforgiven
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who dies without having their sins forgiven

is not forgiven generally, not specifically by religious rite

How Forgiven

unforgiven
2 5.8

Surface Forms

unforgiven positive

Morphology

unforgiven = forgiven (transparent) = un + forgive + en

The productive negating prefix 'un-' attaches to the adjective 'forgiven' to form 'unforgiven', which is a regular and transparent derivation.

Etymology

Unforgiven starts with un- meaning 'not', and the rest is forgive, which comes from for- meaning 'away' and give meaning 'to give'. So unforgiven feels like a fault that was not 'given away' or released, which is why it means 'not forgiven'.