forfeit

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A penalty for or consequence of a misdemeanor.
2. (countable, uncountable) A thing forfeited; that which is taken from somebody in requital of a misdeed committed; that which is lost, or the right to which is alienated, by a crime, breach of contract, etc.
3. (countable, uncountable) Something deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine as part of a game.
4. (countable, obsolete, rare, uncountable) Injury; wrong; mischief.

Verb

1. To suffer the loss of something by wrongdoing or non-compliance
2. To lose a contest, game, match, or other form of competition by voluntary withdrawal, by failing to attend or participate, or by violation of the rules
3. To be guilty of a misdeed; to be criminal; to transgress.
4. To fail to keep an obligation.
5. Of government officials: to legally remove property from its previous owners.

Adj

Lost or alienated for an offense or crime; liable to penal seizure.

Synonyms

forfeiture

fine

confiscate

lose

penalty

amercement

loss

forfeited

forego

give up

mulct

waive

forgo

seize

sequester

throw overboard

pledge

sequestrate

sacrifice

confiscation

expire

beat it

done for

compensate

discharge

evict

disappear

expropriation

extradition

fade

cession

attach

abasement

desert

🏜️

delivery

ceding

decamp

forsake

damages

casualty

gage

garnishee

assignment

giving

go

go around

gone

grant

handing over

damage

Translations

perder

penalidade

Einbuße

verwirken

perte

amende

perda

Verwirkung

κατάσχω

einbüßen

gage

verbeurd

perdre

στερούμαι

pérdida

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈfɔː.fɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: forfait

In summary

From Middle English forfait from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.