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View synonyms for excuse

excuse

[ verb ik-skyooz; noun ik-skyoos ]

verb (used with object)

, ex·cused, ex·cus·ing.
  1. to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.):

    Excuse his bad manners.

  2. to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of:

    He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.

  3. to serve as an apology or justification for; justify:

    Ignorance of the law excuses no one.

    Synonyms: palliate, extenuate

  4. to release from an obligation or duty:

    to be excused from jury duty.

    Synonyms: free

  5. to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself ):

    to excuse oneself from a meeting.

  6. to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with:

    to excuse a debt.

  7. to allow (someone) to leave:

    If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.



noun

  1. an explanation offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation, promise, etc.:

    His excuse for being late was unacceptable.

    Synonyms: justification

  2. a ground or reason for excusing or being excused:

    Ignorance is no excuse.

  3. the act of excusing someone or something.
  4. a pretext or subterfuge:

    He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.

    Synonyms: makeshift, evasion, pretense

  5. an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified:

    That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel.

excuse

verb

  1. to pardon or forgive

    he always excuses her unpunctuality

  2. to seek pardon or exemption for (a person, esp oneself)

    to excuse oneself for one's mistakes

  3. to make allowances for; judge leniently

    to excuse someone's ignorance

  4. to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justify

    her age excuses her behaviour

  5. to exempt from a task, obligation, etc

    you are excused making breakfast

  6. to dismiss or allow to leave

    he asked them to excuse him

  7. to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leave

    he excused himself and left

  8. be excused euphemistic.
    to go to the lavatory
  9. excuse me!
    an expression used to catch someone's attention or to apologize for an interruption, disagreement, or social indiscretion
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. an explanation offered in defence of some fault or offensive behaviour or as a reason for not fulfilling an obligation, etc

    he gave no excuse for his rudeness

  2. informal.
    an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute

    she is a poor excuse for a hostess

  3. the act of excusing
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • exˈcusable, adjective
  • exˈcusably, adverb
  • exˈcusableness, noun
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Other Words From

  • ex·cusa·ble adjective
  • ex·cusa·ble·ness noun
  • ex·cusa·bly adverb
  • ex·cusal noun
  • ex·cuseless adjective
  • ex·cuser noun
  • ex·cusing·ly adverb
  • ex·cusive adjective
  • ex·cusive·ly adverb
  • nonex·cusa·ble adjective
  • nonex·cusa·ble·ness noun
  • nonex·cusa·bly adverb
  • preex·cuse verb (used with object) preexcused preexcusing
  • self-ex·cuse noun
  • self-ex·cused adjective
  • self-ex·cusing adjective
  • unex·cusa·ble adjective
  • unex·cusa·bly adverb
  • unex·cused adjective
  • unex·cusing adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of excuse1

First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English escusen, excusen, from Old French escuser, excuser, from Latin excūsāre “to put outside, exonerate,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + -cūsāre, derivative of causa cause; (noun) Middle English escuse, excuse, from Old French excuse, derivative of escuser, excuser
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Word History and Origins

Origin of excuse1

C13: from Latin excusāre, from ex- 1+ -cūsare, from causa cause, accusation
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. Excuse me, (used as a polite expression, as when addressing a stranger, when interrupting or disagreeing with someone, or to request repetition of what has just been said.)
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Synonym Study

Excuse, forgive, pardon imply being lenient or giving up the wish to punish. Excuse means to overlook some (usually) slight offense: to excuse bad manners. Forgive is applied to excusing more serious offenses: to forgive and forget. Pardon usually applies to a specific act of lenience or mercy by an official or superior: The governor was asked to pardon the condemned criminal. Excuse, apology both imply an explanation of some failure or failing. Excuse implies a desire to avoid punishment or rebuke. Apology usually implies acknowledgment that one has been in the wrong.
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Example Sentences

Traditional absentee excuses include military deployments or illness.

In fact, Texas is one of only six remaining states that are using strict lists of excuses to decide who can vote by mail this year.

Without broader change, Markowitz argued, the city will probably just find another law to use as an excuse to punish speech they don’t like.

That takes care of those five and whatever excuses might be connected to how they were obtained and who did what to obtain them.

From Ozy

If your organization is smaller, don’t use the small sample size as an excuse to avoid this work.

From Fortune

Whatever the excuse, in 2008 we were all subjected to Celebrity Apprentice.

Augustus, also known as Augustus the Strong, was a party-boy, and loved any excuse to celebrate.

This same fear has recently resurfaced as the number one excuse for blocking a proposed subway through Beverly Hills.

But since the government has now permitted the River God to leave the U.K., that excuse can no longer wash.

In it, Weber suggested approaching a woman with lines like: “Excuse me, but you look beautiful.”

One of the simplest of these childish tricks is the invention of an excuse for not instantly obeying a command, as "Come here!"

Could he be conscious of all this, and not excuse the unsteady youth—accuse himself?

I must admit that there is some excuse for you; the pearl of Andalusia is undoubtedly ravissante.

"A woman's particular reason is a man's feeble excuse," murmured Sir Lucien rudely.

Now she knew why her expected guest had not come last night, or remembered to send an excuse.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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