unforgiving

Everyday

1. An unforgiving person does not forgive people easily and keeps blaming them for wrongs they did. tree →
2. An unforgiving place, weather or task is very hard and does not allow any mistakes, as an unforgiving desert or an unforgiving mountain. tree →

In the lessons

In ethics and RE, being unforgiving is contrasted with forgiveness, which Christians and many faiths teach as good; in Bible parables an unforgiving servant is punished. In adventure stories and geography, deserts, seas and cliffs are unforgiving — a small mistake can be deadly. Phrases: «unforgiving heat», «an unforgiving climate», «the unforgiving servant».

Examples

• He was unforgiving and never spoke to his brother again. tree →
• In the parable, the unforgiving servant would not cancel a small debt. tree →
• The desert is unforgiving; without water you cannot survive. tree →
• The mountain was unforgiving to climbers who did not plan well. tree →
• Exams can feel unforgiving: one wrong answer loses the mark. tree →
• She tried not to be unforgiving when her friend apologised. tree →

Note

«Un-» + «forgiving». Do not confuse with «unforgivable», which describes a wrong that is too bad to forgive. Unforgiving describes the person (or place); unforgivable describes the act.