condone v. [kun-DOHN]

Definition

: to regard or treat (something bad or blameworthy) as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless
：宽恕，将“坏事情或应受谴责的事情”认作/当作是可接受的，可饶恕的，或者无害的对待

Did You Know?

Since some folks don't condone even minor usage slips, you might want to get the meaning of this word straight. Although English speakers sometimes use condone with the intended meaning "approve of" or "encourage," the more established meaning is closer to "pardon" or "overlook." Condone comes from the Latin verb condonare, which means "to absolve." Condonare in turn combines the Latin prefix con-, indicating thoroughness, and donare, meaning "to give" or "to grant." Not surprisingly, donare is also the source of our words donate and pardon.

词源/词根演化：con- (彻底，完全) + donare（给予/授予）–> condonare (赦免) –> condone (宽恕)

因为有些人连最微小的用法疏忽都不能容忍，所以你最好把这个单词的意思搞准了。尽管有时候英语的使用者将condone用于表达”赞同“或者”鼓励“，不过这个词更正统的含义是”宽恕“或”忽视“。condone来自于拉丁动词condonare，意思是”赦免“，而condonare又由拉丁前缀con-（完全，彻底）与donare（给予，授予）组合而成。毫无疑问，donare也与英语单词donate（捐赠）和pardon（原谅，par-在这里即per-，指complely，与前缀con-同义）有前世渊源。

注：folk：（某类或某个地方的）人；slip：滑倒，滑脱，疏忽；usage slips：用法上的疏忽；straight：直的，正直的，准的，异性恋的（即直的）；intended meaning：意图含义；established meaning：正统意思；absolve：宣告…无罪，赦免；thoroughness：彻底，完全

Examples

• The school handbook explicitly states that bullying will not be condoned. 
  校规明确规定了校园欺凌行为不会被容忍。

  注：bully：这个最早的意思是”甜心，爱人“，后来恶化成了”欺凌者，骚扰者“，蓋这种变化有点类似于”教授“变”教兽“。
   

• "Forgiving those who have hurt us, or our loved ones, does not mean we condone what they did. What it means is, we are willing to let go, giving ourselves permission to move forward and to take back control of our lives."
  — Mike Zimmer, The Record Observer (Centreville, Maryland), 28 Dec. 2018
  原谅那些伤害过我们或者伤害过我们所爱的人的人，不意味着我们会宽恕他们的所作所为。真正的意义是：我们愿意放下过去，继续前行，重新掌控我们的生活。

  注：be willing to：愿意做…；move forward：前行；take back control of sth：重新掌控… 

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