1. Legal/Financial:
* In a legal context: Forbearance is the act of refraining from exercising a legal right, especially the right to sue for a debt or to enforce a contract. This can be temporary or permanent.
* In a financial context: Forbearance typically refers to a lender temporarily agreeing to postpone or reduce payments on a loan, often due to hardship faced by the borrower. This is often seen with mortgages, student loans, or other consumer loans.
2. General:
* In a more general sense: Forbearance refers to patience and restraint, the ability to withstand provocation or annoyance without reacting. This is often used to describe a person's character.
Here are some examples:
* Legal: "The bank granted the borrower forbearance on their mortgage payment for six months while they dealt with a financial crisis."
* Financial: "The student loan company offered forbearance to graduates who were unemployed."
* General: "She showed remarkable forbearance in the face of her husband's insults."
It's important to understand the context in which "forbearance" is being used to determine its specific meaning.