Forgo means to give something up or do without it — forgo the dessert. Forego means to go before, and now survives almost entirely in the phrase "the foregoing", meaning what came earlier. If you mean giving something up, you want forgo without the E.
The core difference
Two verbs, one of which is nearly extinct outside a single phrase.
- forgo — do without, relinquish: forgo a bonus.
- forego — precede: the foregoing paragraphs.
Why the confusion is understandable
Forego is so rare in its own right that most writers meet it only as foregoing or foregone — and a foregone conclusion is a common phrase. That makes the -ego- spelling feel familiar and correct, which is why it gets used for the other meaning.
Note on tolerance
Many dictionaries now list forego as an accepted variant of forgo, so it is not the clear error it once was. In careful writing the distinction is still worth keeping, if only because the foregoing then remains unambiguous.
Frequently asked questions
Which spelling means to give up?
Forgo, without the E — though forego is now widely listed as an accepted variant.
What does "the foregoing" mean?
What has gone before — the preceding text. This is where forego mostly survives.
Is "a foregone conclusion" spelled right?
Yes. That phrase uses forego in its "going before" sense — a conclusion settled in advance.