condone
/kənˈdəʊn
/verb [with object, often with negative]
1Accept (behaviour that is considered morally wrong or offensive): the college cannot condone any behaviour that involves illicit drugs...
- The complainants objected that the advertisements were offensive and condoned violent and anti-social behaviour.
- Quickly becoming public enemy No1 for condoning Roy Keane's behaviour, Dunphy predicted Ireland were not good enough and at half-time warned of more goals against.
- ‘Obviously this sort of behaviour should not be condoned,’ he said.
Synonyms
deliberately ignore, not take into consideration, disregard, take no notice of, take no account of, accept, allow, make allowances for, let pass, turn a blind eye to, overlook, forget, wink at, blink at, connive at;
forgive, pardon, excuse, let someone off with, let go, sink, bury;
let bygones be bygones
informal let something ride
1.1Approve or sanction (something), especially with reluctance: those arrested were released and the exhibition was officially condoned a few weeks later...
- If we maintain abortion, then we lose the sanctity of life by condoning the death of an unborn human being as a typical surgical operation.
- A former CIA director has exclusively told ITV News that torture is condoned and even approved by HIS government.
- This was not a school agreed protest and we did not sanction this or condone it in any way.
Derivatives
condonation
/ noun ...- That sounds like condonation of sloth, indiscipline, unethical behaviour, and disregard of responsibility.
- Victory in any Assembly or Parliamentary election is no endorsement of crime, nor can it be considered as any condonation of conduct.
- Also, our Olympia report (last issue) was hardly a condonation of how the contest officially ended.
condoner
- Nevertheless, Jarausch's focus on the effects of the post-atrocity court's work on the community from which the perpetrators (and condoners) sprang is helpful.
- Before it tears you up inside though, you get to live a dichotomous life of choosing to be the silent indirect condoner or the nagging battleaxe.
- Heaven does NOT await those who are enablers, promoters and condoners of death.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Latin condonare 'refrain from punishing', from con- 'altogether' + donare 'give'.