excuse

[ verb ik-skyooz; noun ik-skyoos ]

/ verb ɪkˈskyuz; noun ɪkˈskyus /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR excuse ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), ex·cused, ex·cus·ing.

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.

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

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.

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.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?

Question 1 of 10

decorum

the act of or need for making up one's mind.

dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.

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Idioms for excuse

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.)

Origin of excuse

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English escusen < Old French escuser < Latin excūsāre to put outside, exonerate, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + -cūsāre, derivative of causa cause; (noun) Middle English escuse < Old French, derivative of escuser; modern spelling with ex- on the model of ex-¹

SYNONYMS FOR excuse

1 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.

3 extenuate, palliate.

4 free.

8 justification. 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.

11 pretense, evasion, makeshift.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR excuse ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM excuse

ex·cus·a·ble, adjectiveex·cus·a·ble·ness, nounex·cus·a·bly, adverbex·cus·al, noun

ex·cuse·less, adjectiveex·cus·er, nounex·cus·ing·ly, adverbex·cus·ive, adjectiveex·cus·ive·ly, adverbnon·ex·cus·a·ble, adjectivenon·ex·cus·a·ble·ness, nounnon·ex·cus·a·bly, adverbpre·ex·cuse, verb (used with object), pre·ex·cused, pre·ex·cus·ing.self-ex·cuse, nounself-ex·cused, adjectiveself-ex·cus·ing, adjectiveun·ex·cus·a·ble, adjectiveun·ex·cus·a·bly, adverbun·ex·cused, adjectiveun·ex·cus·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH excuse

alibi excuse (see usage note at alibi) (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words nearby excuse

excursive, excursus, excurvature, excurved, excusatory, excuse, excuse me, excuse-me, excuss, excussio, excycloduction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for excusable

Why are Palestinians granted a license of bloodlust as an excusable remedy for their suffering?
There Is No Moral Equivalent to the Murder of Three Israeli Teenagers|Thane Rosenbaum|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And what, exactly, would an excusable yearning be as opposed to an “inexcusable” one?
Berlusconi Exits, and an Era of Sexist Buffoonery Is Over|Lawrence Osborne|November 17, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It was excusable, for the candle threw weird shadows around, which flitted about like phantoms playing at hide-and-seek.
The Argosy|Various
There seems to be no letting down, where letting down would be so natural and excusable.
To Cuba and Back|Richard Henry Dana

No stirring up of dust and ashes is excusable, and none but brutish minds delight in mud-pies mixed with blood.
Oscar Wilde|Arthur Ransome
There were now clearly so many of these for my poor colleague that she was excusable for being vague.
The Turn of the Screw|Henry James
This was the result of carelessness on the part of one of the men, which, under the circumstances, was excusable.
The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself|De Witt C. Peters

British Dictionary definitions for excusable

excuse

verb (ɪkˈskjuːz) (tr)

to pardon or forgivehe 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 lenientlyto excuse someone's ignorance

to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justifyher age excuses her behaviour

to exempt from a task, obligation, etcyou are excused making breakfast

to dismiss or allow to leavehe asked them to excuse him

to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leavehe excused himself and left

be excused euphemistic to go to the lavatory

excuse me! an expression used to catch someone's attention or to apologize for an interruption, disagreement, or social indiscretion

noun (ɪkˈskjuːs)

an explanation offered in defence of some fault or offensive behaviour or as a reason for not fulfilling an obligation, etche gave no excuse for his rudeness

informal an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substituteshe is a poor excuse for a hostess

the act of excusing

Derived forms of excuse

excusable, adjectiveexcusableness, nounexcusably, adverb

Word Origin for excuse

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

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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WORD OF THE DAY

excuse

verb (used with object), ex·cused, ex·cus·ing.

noun