forgone

Forgone is the past participle of the verb forgo, meaning to abstain from, give up, or do without. In active voice, it appears in forms such as “I have forgone that option” or the less common, historical past tense “I forwent that option.” As an adjective, forgone can describe something that has already been given up, though this usage is relatively uncommon and often found in literary or archaic contexts.

A notable distinction is between the spellings foregone and forgone. Foregone is the standard adjective in the well-known idiom foregone conclusion, which denotes something that is already certain or inevitable before it begins. The form forgone, when used adjectivally, is not as widely accepted in this sense and is generally treated as a nonstandard variant in formal writing. In practice, writers should favor foregone for the inevitability sense and reserve forgone for its participial verb usage.

Etymology traces forgone to the verb forgo, itself derived from Old English and related Germanic forms that express going without or renouncing. The past participle forgone and the simple past forwent reflect historical variant spellings and pronunciations that have persisted into modern English.

Usage notes for writers and readers: use forgone when describing the act of giving something up, as in “I have forgone the extra privilege,” though more common modern alternatives include “forwent the option” or simply “gave up.” Use foregone when referring to something deemed inevitable or predetermined, as in “a foregone conclusion.” Being aware of these distinctions helps avoid confusion between the verb’s action and its characteristic adjectives.