Forgive
Forgive verb - To cease to have feelings of anger or bitterness toward.
Keep
Keep verb - To mark with an appropriate practice, rite, or ceremony.
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- For "forgive and forget" to even be a healthy decision, people(not just a targeted person) need to keep responsibility on an abuser without letting him/her off the hook.
Source: Useful Notes / Abuse -
It's what lets him keep the 'Affable' in Affably Evil.Renault: I'll forgive you this time.
Source: Film / Casablanca -
Oh, and then there's Jesus, who when not preaching personally out-argued Satan and managed to keep enough composure while mid-crucifixion to ask the Lord to forgive the men who killed him.
Source: Badass Preacher
Cite this Source
Keep and Forgive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/forgive/keep
Forgive & Keep. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/forgive/keep>.
Keep or Forgive. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/forgive/keep.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "forgive" and "keep" have occurred on timeline