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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CONDONE

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pronounce CONDONE:

kun DOAN
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connect this word to others:

We tend to use the word condone in the negative: "We don't condone violence;" "She wouldn't condone lying or sneakiness of any kind;" "We'd never condone murder."

The same goes for the synonym b___k, meaning "to allow, to put up with:" we tend to talk about the things we don't b___k. Can you think of it? It's just one syllable, and if you need a huge hint, it has a homograph that means "a stream of water."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) 

definition:

"Condone" comes from the Latin condonare, which meant "to permit, or to give up." It breaks down into "con-," meaning "very much," and donare, "to give," which explains why it resembles the words "donate" and "pardon."

In English, "condone" started out as legal term, but by the mid-1800s, we were using it as a stylish synonym of "forgive," "overlook," or "pardon."

In other words, to condone something bad is to excuse it or to let it slide: to overlook it and let it be, instead of criticizing it, punishing it, or taking action to stop it.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, the transitive kind: "We don't condone the use of force to make children behave;" "They won't condone any type of academic cheating."

Other forms: 

The other verb forms are "condoned" and "condoning."

People who condone things are "condoners."

You could describe behavior as "condoned" or "condonable."

If you need a noun, you can pick between "condonation" and "condonance," both of which are easily understood but not commonly used.

how to use it:

Pick the serious, formal, common word "condone" when you want to describe people who, often through laziness or inaction, let (or more often, don't let) bad behavior slide.

Talk about people condoning (or more often, not condoning) all kinds of bad behavior, from the mildly disrespectful ("She doesn't condone gum-chewing in class") to the careless and potentially harmful ("He doesn't condone unsanitary handling of food") to the profoundly and deliberately destructive ("We don't condone systemic racism;" "We don't condone killing civilians").

examples:

"We increased our pace; neither of our mothers would condone us coming home late."
  — Wes Moore, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, 2010

"Miss Manners cannot condone the contemplated rudenesses of uninviting your in-laws or being absent when they arrive."
  — Judith Martin, Nicholas Martin, and Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 1 January 2020

has this page helped you understand "condone"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "condone" without saying "turn a blind eye to" or "look the other way."

try it out:

As he was denying that one of his songs was about date rape, the rapper Rick Ross said:

"I would never use the term rape... in my lyrics... Hip hop don't condone that, the streets don't condone that, nobody condones that."

With that in mind as an example, think of something else that absolutely no one would condone, especially in your own line of work or in one of your own hobbies.




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "It's That Thing..."

We'll play with some highly slangy, reasonably wholesome terms, courtesy of Urban Dictionary.

I'll give you three terms, and you attempt to define them. Scroll down to see the correct definitions, and give yourself a point for each term that you defined either correctly or believably.

Try these today:

1. Jump the couch

2. Hangxiety

3. Mockbuster

review this word:

1. The opposite of CONDONE could be

A. TAKE or STEAL.
B. CONDEMN or PUNISH.
C. ALLOW or ENCOURAGE.

2. A writer for Time mused, "An artist devoted to provocation can't be surprised if his work provokes... This is not meant to condone _____."

A. public critique of art
B. an act of vandalism against art
C. free speech in the creation of art




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. B

From the game:

Remember, even if you're wrong, give yourself a point for coming up with a believable definition! Here are the definitions that Urban Dictionary lists.

1. Jump the couch: "To go off the deep end. Inspired by Tom Cruise's behavior on Oprah."

2. Hangxiety: "The feeling of overwhelming guilt, stress, and worry you experience the day after [drinking too much]."

3. Mockbuster: "A low-budget (but not necessarily bad) movie made after a blockbuster using a similar plot and often exploiting on its publicity campaign." Like when Snakes on a Plane inspires the spinoff Snakes on a Train.


a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


From my blog:
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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