condone

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 20, 2011 is: condone • \kun-DOHN\  • verb : to regard or treat (something bad or blameworthy) as acceptable, forgivable, or harmless Examples: The school handbook explicitly states that bullying will not be condoned. "A workers' union spokeswoman said the union doesn't condone illegal action of any kind." -- From a wire report on NewsOK.com (Oklahoma), August 12, 2011 Did you know? Since some folks don't condone even minor usage slips, you might want to get the meaning of this word straight. Although English speakers sometimes use "condone" with the intended meaning "approve of" or "encourage," the more established meaning is closer to "pardon" or "overlook." "Condone" comes from the Latin verb "condonare," which means "to absolve." "Condonare" in turn combines the Latin prefix "con-," indicating thoroughness, and "donare," meaning "to give" or "to grant." Not surprisingly, "donare" is also the source of our words "donate" and "pardon." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.