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
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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.
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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
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a ground or reason for excusing or being excused.
Ignorance is no excuse.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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:
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, for years a staunch supporter of settlers, said there was "no excuse for such thuggish behaviour".
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
But the giant technology companies are now greedily raising as much money as they can from suckers — excuse me, investors — to keep spending on the AI arms race.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
During Tuesday’s sentencing, Escobedo noted Halem had preyed on individuals who “perhaps shouldn’t be seen as victims, because they were criminals themselves,” but that that didn’t excuse his actions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Iraola did make a raft of changes at the break and in the second half but that is no excuse for the way they capitulated against Daniel Farke's side.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
I have no excuse for this, except that I was fifteen, and felt that day by day all my happiness was being taken from me.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
"I thought our prep was spot-on, no excuses."
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
At these schools, there are no excuses, and the achievement gap has all but disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
When people notice his plentiful bruises, Almásy makes up excuses, leading them to think he’s a klutz.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
I don’t get either one of those excuses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
I’ll have to get good at thinking up excuses if I’m going to have to do these treatments twice a week.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
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
During the meal, he had a panic attack and excused himself to call his therapist.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Lutnick said he found the comment "off-putting", and so he and his wife excused themselves and left the home.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
The informant excused himself to head upstairs to retrieve the money, a signal for Haitian police commandos to storm in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
It was going to take Mrs. Maroney a few minutes to tend to the errand, and she excused herself with profound apologies.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
The film isn’t excusing these rough working conditions, but it’s not a puff piece, either.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
A people can’t cry out for deliverance while refusing correction or ask God for justice while excusing wrongdoing in its own ranks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
“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
“We all went in to make this — not excusing any kind of behavior — wanting to be extra kind to each other,” says Taylor-Joy.
From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2024
Now that’s just excusing herself a little too much, pretending Minny ain’t getting the job cause Minny don’t want the job.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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.
