excuse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
excuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
excused,
past participle, past
-
excusing
present participle
-
to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.).
Excuse his bad manners.
-
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.
-
to release from an obligation or duty.
to be excused from jury duty.
- Synonyms:
- free
-
to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself ).
to excuse oneself from a meeting.
-
to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with.
to excuse a debt.
-
to allow (someone) to leave.
If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
noun
-
excuses
plural
-
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
-
to pardon or forgive
he always excuses her unpunctuality
-
to seek pardon or exemption for (a person, esp oneself)
to excuse oneself for one's mistakes
-
to make allowances for; judge leniently
to excuse someone's ignorance
-
to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justify
her age excuses her behaviour
-
to exempt from a task, obligation, etc
you are excused making breakfast
-
to dismiss or allow to leave
he asked them to excuse him
-
to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leave
he excused himself and left
-
euphemistic to go to the lavatory
-
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
-
informal an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute
she is a poor excuse for a hostess
-
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
-
excusablenessnoun
-
excusalnoun
-
excusernoun
-
nonexcusablenessnoun
-
self-excusenoun
-
preexcuseverb (used with object)
-
excusableadjective
-
excuselessadjective
-
excusiveadjective
-
nonexcusableadjective
-
self-excusedadjective
-
self-excusingadjective
-
unexcusableadjective
-
unexcusedadjective
-
unexcusingadjective
-
excusablyadverb
-
excusinglyadverb
-
excusivelyadverb
-
nonexcusablyadverb
-
unexcusablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
excusesimple
-
excusessimple
-
have excusedperfect
-
has excusedperfect
-
am excusingprogressive
-
are excusingprogressive
-
is excusingprogressive
-
have been excusingperfect progressive
-
has been excusingperfect progressive
Past
-
excusedsimple
-
had excusedperfect
-
was excusingprogressive
-
were excusingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The House on Mango Street" and "The Road Not Taken"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
But she slipped up, triggering ripples of laughter, when she referred to "my president, excuse me, my husband."
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Cornwall Council said there was "no excuse" for the offence, and that it would hold fly-tippers to account.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
But what could be the excuse for holding up money for students?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
I wasn’t sure what the reluctance was, but then they announced a Detroit date, and I no longer had the excuse that I wasn’t going to travel to see this.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
“No, I’ll pick it up,” I said, already grasping for my next excuse to leave the house.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
More likely, many countries could be reticent to accept “volcano refugees,” making excuses – perhaps legitimate ones – that they don’t have the money, resources or space to safely settle so many people so swiftly.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
"It's not about looking for excuses," the Spaniard told Sky Sports.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Let’s tackle the first, which is how to stop the barrage of bizarre excuses.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
His Fed is less likely to cling to excuses such as supply-chain shocks as reasons to “look through” inflation above its 2% target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
No intercourse with Harriet possible but by note; no church for her on Sunday any more than on Christmas Day; and no need to find excuses for Mr. Elton’s absenting himself.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
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
Then she excused herself — someone else wanted to say what’s up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
You’ll be excused for viewing that shameless promotion with cynicism as long as you also leave room to appreciate it as an indicator of how far the group has pulled popular culture.
From Salon ● May 31, 2026
Citra sat through the wedding ceremony, but excused herself before the reception and took a publicar back to Scythe Faraday’s house, unable to bear another minute of it.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Only after repeatedly excusing that phrase did he say that he would “discourage” it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The film isn’t excusing these rough working conditions, but it’s not a puff piece, either.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 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
Other people were more forgiving, with some criticizing the negativity coming Andress’ way and excusing her rough performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2024
He’s excusing himself all the way across the room.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
