Other forms: condoned, condoning, condones
To condone is to accept behaviour that ought to be condemned. Cannot condone it, condone violence, we do not condone that.
It is nearly always used in the negative — I do not condone it — because the word exists mostly to disclaim. Condoning is not approving: it means letting something pass, which is why silence can condone. Note the pair condone and condemn, which look alike and mean opposites; and that condone comes from the Latin for forgiving, which is gentler than the modern use.
1verbcondoneTo accept behaviour that ought to be condemned.
“I understand why he was angry, but I can't condone him hitting anyone.”
condone is an accepting.
Latin condonare means to give up or forgive — con plus donare, to give. Donate, pardon and donation come from the same giving.
Proto-Indo-European
*deh₃-
Latin
condōnō — to forgive
English, today
condone
Latin condōnō (“to forgive”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA