for good

English

WOTD – 20 February 2024

Etymology

From for + good (“of an action: complete, thorough, utter”, adjective).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fə ˈɡʊd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fəɹ ˈɡʊd/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊd

Prepositional phrase

for good

1. (idiomatic) In a way that is conclusive and final.

   Synonyms: definitively, forever, for good and all, once and for all, permanently; see also Thesaurus:finally

   Hyponym: for keeps

   A bad haircut is no fun, but at least you’re not stuck with it for good, only until it grows out.

   • 1711 July 16 (Gregorian calendar), Jonathan Swift, “[Dr. Swift’s Journal to Stella.] Letter XXVI.”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume XV, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 85:

     This day I left Chelsea for good (that's a genteel phrase) and am got into Suffolk street.

   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LIII. Mr. Belford, to Robert Lovelace, Esq.”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume VII, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC, page 200:

     [S]he was dozing in the elbovv-chair, having refuſed to lie dovvn, ſaying, She ſhould ſoon, ſhe hoped, lie dovvn for good.

   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Israel Hands”, in Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part V (My Sea Adventure), page 207:

     Well, now, I'm no scholar, and you're a lad as can read and figure; and, to put it straight, do you take it as a dead man is dead for good, or do he come alive again?

   • 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter XXXII, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 540:

     What I want is to get out of this fix, for good—so I can go to sleep at night without worrying over what's going to happen to me tomorrow, and next month, and next year.

   • 1971 March 19, Leonard Cohen (lyrics and music), “Famous Blue Raincoat”, in Songs of Love and Hate, New York, N.Y.: Columbia Records, →OCLC; lyrics republished in Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, 1993, →ISBN, page 153:

     Yes, and thanks for the trouble you took from her eyes. I thought it was there for good so I never tried.

   • 2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, New York, N.Y.: W[illiam] W[arder] Norton & Company, →ISBN, book 3:

     He […] unbuttons the bottom of his jacket so the rumors can be dispelled for good: he no longer wears his double belts.

Translations

in a way that is conclusive and final — see also once and for all

• Bulgarian: завинаги (bg) (zavinagi)
• Catalan: d'una vegada per totes
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: nadobro, navždy (cs)
• Danish: for altid (da), for evigt (da)
• Dutch: voorgoed (nl)
• Finnish: lopullisesti (fi), pysyvästi (fi)
• French: pour de bon (fr), définitivement (fr)
• Galician: de vez, para sempre
• Georgian: სამუდამოდ (samudamod)
• German: auf ewig, endgültig (de), für immer (de)
• Greek: για τα καλά (el) (gia ta kalá)
• Hungarian: egyszer s mindenkorra, örökre (hu), végleg (hu), véglegesen (hu)
• Italian: definitivamente (it), per sempre
• Japanese: 永遠に (eien ni), 永久に (eikyu ni)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: for godt

  Nynorsk: for godt, for ollo

• Polish: na dobre
• Portuguese: de vez (pt), em definitivo, eternamente (pt), para sempre (pt)
• Russian: наве́ки (ru) (navéki), навсегда́ (ru) (navsegdá)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: јѐдно̄м за сва̏гда, за̀увије̄к

  Roman: jèdnōm za svȁgda, zàuvijēk (sh)

• Spanish: con toda la barba, definitivamente (es), de una vez por todas, para siempre
• Swedish: för gott (sv), för alltid, för evigt
• Ukrainian: назавжди́ (nazavždý)
• Welsh: am byth

See also

• for better or worse

Further reading

• “for good, phrase” under “good, adj., n., adv., and int.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2023.
• “for good”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2003, →ISBN.