excuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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excuses,
present (3rd person singular)
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excused,
past participle, past
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excusing
present participle
-
to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.).
Excuse his bad manners.
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to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of.
He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.
-
to serve as an apology or justification for; justify.
Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
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to release from an obligation or duty.
to be excused from jury duty.
- Synonyms:
- free
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to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself ).
to excuse oneself from a meeting.
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to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with.
to excuse a debt.
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to allow (someone) to leave.
If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
noun
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excuses
plural
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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
-
a ground or reason for excusing or being excused.
Ignorance is no excuse.
-
the act of excusing someone or something.
-
a pretext or subterfuge.
He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.
-
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.
idioms
verb
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to pardon or forgive
he always excuses her unpunctuality
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to seek pardon or exemption for (a person, esp oneself)
to excuse oneself for one's mistakes
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to make allowances for; judge leniently
to excuse someone's ignorance
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to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justify
her age excuses her behaviour
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to exempt from a task, obligation, etc
you are excused making breakfast
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to dismiss or allow to leave
he asked them to excuse him
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to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leave
he excused himself and left
-
euphemistic to go to the lavatory
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an expression used to catch someone's attention or to apologize for an interruption, disagreement, or social indiscretion
noun
-
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
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informal an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute
she is a poor excuse for a hostess
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the act of excusing
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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excusablenessnoun
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excusalnoun
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excusernoun
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nonexcusablenessnoun
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self-excusenoun
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preexcuseverb (used with object)
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excusableadjective
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excuselessadjective
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excusiveadjective
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nonexcusableadjective
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self-excusedadjective
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self-excusingadjective
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unexcusableadjective
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unexcusedadjective
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unexcusingadjective
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excusablyadverb
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excusinglyadverb
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excusivelyadverb
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nonexcusablyadverb
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unexcusablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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excusesimple
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excusessimple
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have excusedperfect
-
has excusedperfect
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am excusingprogressive
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are excusingprogressive
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is excusingprogressive
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have been excusingperfect progressive
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has been excusingperfect progressive
Past
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excusedsimple
-
had excusedperfect
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was excusingprogressive
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were excusingprogressive
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had been excusingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of excuse
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
Explanation
An excuse is an explanation for something that went wrong. When we give an excuse, we're trying to get someone to cut us some slack. When you finish dinner and ask, "May I be excused?" you've used one of many meanings of this word. It’s generally a reason for behavior: A note from your parents saying you have a doctor’s appointment can excuse you from school for the day. If your dog is sick, he has an excuse for barfing in the house. But be careful — making excuses can get awfully close to whining.
Vocabulary lists containing excuse
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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"The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara
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"The House on Mango Street" and "The Road Not Taken"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Toey is almost like a Minor League Baseball mascot, the group explained in a follow-up email, “Out there to pump up the crowd and celebrate a well-heeled excuse to dodge the draft.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
"My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry."
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2026
She said: "There's never any excuse why a venue doesn't implement Ask for Angela."
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
It feels wrong to just excuse this from here on out.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
I tried to think of an excuse, but I didn’t have one.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
But let’s look at some of the other excuses out there.
From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2026
Make your excuses — tell them you have to use the restroom, if you must.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
When it comes to Bass, Gonzalez said, "I haven't seen enough progress, and I've heard a lot of excuses."
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
We are not accepting any excuses for anything and I think the players are doing a great job.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
He liked Linda and he didn’t want one of his last memories of her to be full of quivering excuses and weak reassurances.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
But he escaped a five-second penalty because one of the transgressions was when he suffered a long brake pedal caused by heat soak after his pit stop, so he was excused.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
But she claimed she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and sought to be excused from criminal responsibility.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
She excused herself and returned to her prayers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
He was excused after three embarrassing losses to start his second season; he went 5-10 as a head coach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Shadow excused himself to use the bathroom—a cramped, closet-like room near the front door, hung with several brown-spotted framed photographs.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
The agency has a history of excusing union supporters’ threats against workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
A national campaign to tackle bad behaviour in schools has been suggested, with some parents showing "defiance" to policies and excusing the actions of their children, according to Estyn.
From BBC ● May 7, 2025
“I can tell you, we’re throwing all of our available resources at it as we speak,” the chief said before excusing herself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025
I'm not excusing any of his behavior and I do think that if anyone is an unhealthy situation they have every right to leave and probably should leave.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2024
He stood up, and without a word to the others, without even excusing himself, he walked out of the room with Jahrling.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
