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
-
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:
These insights into Alice’s personality don’t excuse her short fuse, but they do mark her as worthy of redemption.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
“Which was really just a convenient excuse for buying it for myself,” Saenko admitted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Other clubs, with new managers as well as lots of new players, look much more organised so it is not an excuse.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
But he warned against allowing the choice to become an excuse for postponing saving.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
She hurried to the cart, trembling as she struggled to make some excuse to defend herself.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
But when it came time to settle up, Holdo was full of excuses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
By 2007, I couldn't keep covering up my stumbling with excuses and so felt I had to reveal my diagnosis.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
America’s greatest achievements have always required us to confront difficult problems without letting them become excuses for inaction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I’ve heard some creative excuses for blocking housing in Los Angeles, but golfing mountain lions may take the prize.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
After a few days I’d get up off the couch and return to the Craig who didn’t need to make excuses for himself.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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
I smiled a lot, and then, when I couldn’t form any more words, she politely excused herself to get some punch.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
The film isn’t excusing these rough working conditions, but it’s not a puff piece, either.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
The agency has a history of excusing union supporters’ threats against workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 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
Which is one way of excusing an ally for aiding an enemy.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024
I ask him if he can sign a medical card excusing me from work.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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.
