condone

英 [kən'dəʊn] 美 [kən'doʊn]

vt.宽恕

◉Etymology

“Condone”源自拉丁语“condonare”，意为“宽恕”或“赦免”，由前缀“con-”（一起、加强）和“donare”（给予）组成。“Donare”与“donate”（捐赠）、“pardon”（赦免）同根，暗示一种慷慨的让渡。这个词在19世纪进入英语，最初用于法律或宗教语境，指宽恕罪行或过失，后扩展到日常语言，形容对错误行为的默许或不予追究。其语感正式而微妙，带有一种道德判断的张力。

◉外刊例句

① 《The Guardian》 (2023年10月28日)

The government was criticized for appearing to condone corporate tax evasion."

政府因看似默许企业逃税而受到批评。

② 《The New York Times》 (2024年6月15日)

Silence does not mean we condone violence, but we must address its roots.

沉默并不意味着我们宽恕暴力，但我们必须解决其根源。

◉经典名著

① 《简·爱》（Jane Eyre）——夏洛蒂·勃朗特 (1847年)

I could not condone his deceit, though my heart ached for his pain.

我无法宽恕他的欺骗，尽管我为他的痛苦而心痛。

② 《双城记》（A Tale of Two Cities）——查尔斯·狄更斯 (1859年)

The court would not condone such treachery, even in times of war.

法庭不会宽恕这种背叛，即使在战时也不例外。

◉Usage Examples

(1) People cannot condone the use of fierce violence.

(2) No faith or culture should condone the outrages against them.

(1) 人们不能宽恕使用凶残的暴力。

(2) 任何信仰或文化都不能宽恕对妇幼施加的暴行。

◉Usage Notes

If you condone something, you allow it, approve of it, or at least can live with it. Some teachers condone chewing gum, and some don't.

Things that are condoned are allowed, even if everyone isn't exactly thrilled about it. People often say, "I don't condone what he did, but I understand it." Condoning is like excusing something. People seem to talk more about things they don't condone than things they do condone. Your mom might say, "I don't condone you staying up till 10, but I know you need to read." That's a way of giving approval and not giving approval at the same time.

◉Colins

1. [VERB 动词]容忍，纵容（不道德行为） If someone condones behaviour that is morally wrong, they accept it and allow it to happen. [V n] [oft with brd-neg]

I have never encouraged nor condoned violence...

我从不煽动也不纵容暴力行为。

I couldn't condone what she was doing.

我无法容忍她在做的事。