1
as in patience
the capacity to endure what is difficult or disagreeable without complaining
we thank you for your forbearance while we attend to the technical difficulties interrupting the TV program
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mercy
kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it
the judge showed forbearance, and gave the teenaged first offender a suspended sentence
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forbearance
Like many other human relationships, alliances are hard work: their management requires patience, forbearance, skill, and, like a garden, repeated tending.
—
Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2025
Millions of student loan borrowers who signed up for SAVE were automatically enrolled in a forbearance.
—Annie Nova, CNBC, 15 Aug. 2025
As a result, around eight million borrowers were forced into an administrative forbearance, which hasn’t counted toward student loan forgiveness.
—Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Nearly 8 million borrowers in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan are now collecting interest on their loans for the first time since former President Joe Biden placed the group in forbearance in July 2024, pausing both monthly payments and interest accrual.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forbearance
Margaret MacMillan, Foreign Affairs, 21 July 2025
Millions of student loan borrowers who signed up for SAVE were automatically enrolled in a forbearance.
—Annie Nova, CNBC, 15 Aug. 2025
As a result, around eight million borrowers were forced into an administrative forbearance, which hasn’t counted toward student loan forgiveness.
—Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Nearly 8 million borrowers in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan are now collecting interest on their loans for the first time since former President Joe Biden placed the group in forbearance in July 2024, pausing both monthly payments and interest accrual.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forbearance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forbearance
Noun
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Catching a crescent this slim requires good timing, a good location, some patience and possibly a pair of binoculars.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
23 Aug. 2025
-
Your transfer strategy should always be guided by patience and purpose.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Hiring managers are at the mercy of catfishing, where final candidates accept a job offer only to never show up.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
22 Aug. 2025
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Over 35 states currently lack menstrual care protections, leaving women incarcerated in those state prisons at the mercy of jail and prison staff.—
Maia Niguel Hoskin,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In the age of agentic AI, where models act with increasing autonomy, the companies that thrive will be those that remember the obvious truth often overlooked in the race for progress: intelligence may drive the engine, but empathy keeps people in the driver’s seat.—
Victor Dey,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Other board members also expressed empathy for community members who spoke during recent public comment periods, many expressing concerns about district administrators creating a toxic workplace and criticizing the recent hiring of Tremaine Harris as assistant principal of the Century Junior High.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forbearance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forbearance. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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