forgive but don't forget

verb

To pardon someone of wrongdoing while retaining awareness of their past behavior to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

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Meanings

verb
  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo pardon someone of wrongdoing while retaining awareness of their past behavior to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

    'Forgive, forget,' we're wisely told, Is held a maxim good and old; But half the maxim's better yet,– THEN OH FORGIVE–BUT DON'T FORGET

    1841, Samuel Lover, Roberts' Semi-Monthly Magazine, volume 1, number 1, page 8
    1 more example

    Amanda feels strongly that it is necessary "to forgive, but don't forget. Don't forget what happened to you, but it's in the past, just leave it."

    2021, Nadine E. Dolby, Constructing Race: Youth, Identity, and Popular Culture in South Africa, page 101

Origin

In reference to the phrase forgive and forget.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

forgive but don't forget. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forgive%20but%20don't%20forget

MLA

“forgive but don't forget.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forgive%20but%20don't%20forget. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forgive but don't forget,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forgive%20but%20don't%20forget.

Source: forgive but don't forget on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.