To stop being angry at someone for wrongdoing and decide not to punish or hold a grudge; to release from debt.
From Old English 'forgiefan,' literally 'to give up' or 'surrender.' 'For-' means away and 'give' means to grant. The word is over 1000 years old in English and remains one of most psychologically complex human acts.
Neuroscientists have found that forgiving people literally have lower stress hormone levels and better heart health—it's not mystical, it's physiology. Holding a grudge keeps your body in chronic fight-or-flight mode, while forgiveness lets your system calm down.
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