Advertisement
Advertisement
excuse
[ verb ik-skyooz; noun 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
- 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
- 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
- informal.an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute
she is a poor excuse for a hostess
- the act of excusing
Derived Forms
- ˈܲ, adjective
- ˈܲ, adverb
- ˈܲness, noun
Other 51Թ Forms
- ·ܲa· adjective
- ·ܲa··ness noun
- ·ܲa· adverb
- ·ܲa noun
- ·ܲl adjective
- ·ܲİ noun
- ·ܲiԲ· adverb
- ·ܲi adjective
- ·ܲi·ly adverb
- non·ܲa· adjective
- non·ܲa··ness noun
- non·ܲa· adverb
- e·ܲ verb (used with object) preexcused preexcusing
- -·ܲ noun
- -·ܲ adjective
- -·ܲiԲ adjective
- un·ܲa· adjective
- un·ܲa· adverb
- ܲe·ܲ adjective
- ܲe·ܲiԲ adjective
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
Can producers find another excuse to bring this comedy duo back together?
For plenty of them, it was the perfect excuse to take the dog for a walk too.
The court will only hear from 10 out of the 12 people who were arrested in 2017, as one died last month, and another, aged 81, will be excused as he has advanced dementia.
She thinks her cousin is making excuses for some bad choices.
Streeting had called for his former assistant to resign, saying: "There are no excuses for his appalling behaviour. I am calling for him, again, to resign as a Redbridge councillor immediately."
Advertisement
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.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse