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excuse
[ik-skyooz, ik-skyoos]
verb (used with object)
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.
Synonyms: ,to release from an obligation or duty.
to be excused from jury duty.
Synonyms: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.
Synonyms: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.
Synonyms: , ,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.
excuse
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
euphemisticto 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
informalan inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute
she is a poor excuse for a hostess
the act of excusing
Other 51Թ Forms
- excusable adjective
- excusableness noun
- excusably adverb
- excusal noun
- excuseless adjective
- excuser noun
- excusingly adverb
- excusive adjective
- excusively adverb
- nonexcusable adjective
- nonexcusableness noun
- nonexcusably adverb
- preexcuse verb (used with object)
- self-excuse noun
- self-excused adjective
- self-excusing adjective
- unexcusable adjective
- unexcusably adverb
- unexcused adjective
- unexcusing adjective
- ˈܲ adjective
- ˈܲ adverb
- ˈܲness noun
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of excuse1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of excuse1
Idioms and Phrases
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.)
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
It's not because of immigration, although he's using that as an excuse.
"This is just a made-up excuse in order to create a system that looks like it's helping people without actually helping people," he says.
“Please, please, do not give the administration an excuse to intervene,” she said.
Stewards rejected Tsunoda's explanations for his actions, saying Piastri was not going slow enough to excuse the breaking of a safety rule.
She said she felt the reasons Guernsey Electricity gave for the price rises, such as historic underinvestment, were "just an excuse".
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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.
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