What does forbearance mean?
Word: Forbearance
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Forbearance means calm self-control, especially when you choose to put up with something annoying rather than react to it.
Synonyms: tolerance, restraint, self-control
Antonyms: impatience, intolerance
How do you spell forbearance?
Syllables: for - bear - ance
Tricky part: It starts with for, not fore, and the ending is ance, not ence.
Watch out for: forbearence, forbarance, forbearanse
Memory tip: Forbearance ends like tolerance and endurance, two more words about putting up with things.
Forbearance in a sentence
Example 1: The teacher showed great forbearance when the projector failed for the third time.
Example 2: Thanks to the shopkeeper's forbearance, the farmer could pay his bill after the harvest.
Example 3: It takes forbearance to stay calm when your little brother breaks your model aeroplane.
Fun Fact
Forbearance is also a banking word. When a lender agrees to let a borrower pause or reduce repayments for a while, the arrangement is called forbearance.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. diligence 2. forbearance 3. integritty 4. humility
a) steady, careful effort in your work
b) calm restraint when you could easily react
c) the quality of being honest and fair
d) not thinking you are better than others
Show answer
c) the quality of being honest and fair. Integrity has only one t, so integritty is the one to find; its meaning is the answer.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word forbearance as used in the sentence:
Grandmother answered the toddler's endless questions with great forbearance.
a) suspicion
b) haste
c) patience
d) anger
Show answer
c) patience. Answering question after question calmly takes patience, which is what forbearance means here.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
With great abenrcoreaf, the coach let the team finish the drill before pointing out their mistakes.
a) appearance
b) forbearance
c) fragrance
d) forbearing
Show answer
b) forbearance. Eleven letters including an f, a b and a c: appearance and fragrance lack the b, and forbearing has no c.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
forb_a_ance
a) e, l
b) o, r
c) e, r
d) a, r
Show answer
c) e, r. Think of the verb bear, to put up with something: an e before the a, then the r.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A teacher who shows forbearance with a noisy class ____.
a) walks out of the room in a huff
b) sets extra homework for everyone
c) keeps calm instead of scolding
d) scolds the whole class at once
Show answer
c) keeps calm instead of scolding
2. Which of these situations calls for forbearance?
a) choosing a birthday gift for your best friend
b) your team scoring the winning goal in the final
c) finishing all your homework well before dinner
d) a neighbour's radio playing loudly while you study
Show answer
d) a neighbour's radio playing loudly while you study
