pardon

plural pardons

1. countableuncountableForgiveness for an offence.

   […] a step, that could not be taken with the least hope of ever obtaining pardon from or reconciliation with any of my friends; […]

   1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC

   1 more example

   According to this logic, the pardons Balteira gained on her pilgrimage should have revirginated her, and would have if she had an 'iron box', or a firm dedication to her Christian faith, with which to guard her chastity.”

   1997, Denise Keyes Filios, Women Out of Bounds

   Synonyms: clemency

2. countableuncountablelawAn order that releases a convicted criminal without further punishment, prevents future punishment, or (in some jurisdictions) removes an offence from a person's criminal record, as if it had never been committed.

   The President[…]shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

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   NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from July^([sic – meaning January]) 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

   1974 September 8, Gerald R. Ford, 00:24 from the start, in Proclamation 4311, archived from the original on 18 May 2017, page 2

   But the president's most irreversible, almost God-like power is the authority granted to him under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, "to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses Against the United States. . . ." The power is absolute-even a serial killer could be pardoned-and utterly unreviewable. It cannot be rescinded by the next president. The president may grant a pardon before a trial, after a trial, or without a trial. Once granted, a pardon can never be taken away.

   2001, Barbara Olson, “The Final Frenzy: Finishing Touches on the Legend”, in The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House (Politics/Current Affairs), Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 7

   A source familiar with Trump legal strategy says his team believes Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter has set a new precedent for presidents to issue expansive pardons to their children – and this could be something Trump chooses to do before he leaves office.

   2024 December 5, Marshall Cohen, MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, “Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for Trump’s perceived enemies”, in CNN

present singular third person pardons · participle present pardoning · participle past pardoned · past pardoned

1. transitiveTo forgive (a person).

   O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, / That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

   1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)

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   I hope you will not find he has outstepped the truth more than may be pardoned, in consideration of the motive.

   1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], Emma: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC

   Well! the King of France died pardoning & pitying all those who had tortured his Soul & Body, a great Pattern for us all.

   1793 March 19, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana

   In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   Synonyms: amnesty, remit

2. transitiveTo refrain from exacting as a penalty.

   I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it.

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]

3. transitivelawTo grant an official pardon for a crime.

   The murderer, he recalled, had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment for life, but was pardoned by a merciful governor after serving a year of his sentence.

   1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC

   2 more examples

   In that situation, that memo would include a list of individuals that Biden might consider pardoning preemptively, the context about any prior legal precedent, and a discussion of the wide range of potential ramifications if the president does move forward with these pardons.

   2024 December 5, Marshall Cohen, MJ Lee, Paula Reid and Katelyn Polantz, “Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for Trump’s perceived enemies”, in CNN

   President Donald Trump says he pardoned Trevor Milton, the CEO of now-defunct hydrogen and electric truck firm Nikola, in part because he believed Milton was persecuted for supporting Trump’s political ambitions.

   2025 March 28, Kevin Liptak, “Trump pardons Trevor Milton, who was accused of fraud related to bankrupt truck maker Nikola”, in CNN

1. Often used when someone does not understand what another person says.