excuse
verb (used with object)
to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.).
was excusing
-
past progressiveof excuse.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Nobody was excusing violence or suggesting that free speech be curtailed.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2015
“He made a mistake,” Olanna said, and then wished she hadn’t because she didn’t want Kainene to think she was excusing Odenigbo.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The senator was excusing himself confusedly to the walls, the furniture, and turning his back in his agitation on the dismayed Rene, the only one who could have listened to him.
From The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Charlotte Brewster Jordan
He had taken it quite as a matter of fact, and was excusing me in the kindest possible terms.
From My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin
With the aid of what she had worked out as to his character after she left him, she had no difficulty in seeing that he was deceiving himself, was excusing himself.
From Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise by David Graham Phillips
