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.
to release from an obligation or duty: to be excused from jury duty.
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.
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.
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 for excuse
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.)
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
SYNONYMS FOR excuse
3 extenuate, palliate.
4 free.
8 justification.
11 pretense, evasion, makeshift.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR excuse ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for excuse
1. 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.8. 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.
ex·cuse·less,adjectiveex·cus·er,nounex·cus·ing·ly,adverbex·cus·ive,adjectiveex·cus·ive·ly,adverbnon·ex·cus·a·ble,adjectivenon·ex·cus·a·ble·ness,nounnon·ex·cus·a·bly,adverbpre·ex·cuse,verb (used with object),pre·ex·cused,pre·ex·cus·ing.self-ex·cuse,nounself-ex·cused,adjectiveself-ex·cus·ing,adjectiveun·ex·cus·a·ble,adjectiveun·ex·cus·a·bly,adverbun·ex·cused,adjectiveun·ex·cus·ing,adjective
Traditional absentee excuses include military deployments or illness.
Vote by mail: Which states allow absentee voting|Kate Rabinowitz, Brittany Mayes|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
In fact, Texas is one of only six remaining states that are using strict lists of excuses to decide who can vote by mail this year.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
Without broader change, Markowitz argued, the city will probably just find another law to use as an excuse to punish speech they don’t like.
Those Ticketed for Seditious Language Say Their Only Crime Was Talking Back|Kate Nucci|September 9, 2020|Voice of San Diego
That takes care of those five and whatever excuses might be connected to how they were obtained and who did what to obtain them.
Who Among Us Has Not Seduced the Pool Boy?|Eugene Robinson|August 30, 2020|Ozy
If your organization is smaller, don’t use the small sample size as an excuse to avoid this work.
How to be a fair-pay CEO|matthewheimer|August 25, 2020|Fortune
Whatever the excuse, in 2008 we were all subjected to Celebrity Apprentice.
Donald Trump Fires Woman For Not Calling Bill Cosby|Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Augustus, also known as Augustus the Strong, was a party-boy, and loved any excuse to celebrate.
One Cake to Rule Them All: How Stollen Stole Our Hearts|Molly Hannon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This same fear has recently resurfaced as the number one excuse for blocking a proposed subway through Beverly Hills.
But since the government has now permitted the River God to leave the U.K., that excuse can no longer wash.
Britain Has Lost Its Marbles: Elgin Loan Will Appease Putin|Geoffrey Robertson|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In it, Weber suggested approaching a woman with lines like: “Excuse me, but you look beautiful.”
The Secret World of Pickup Artist Julien Blanc|Brandy Zadrozny|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She took her place at the keyhole, and had an excuse ready for the old woman, if she should come out suddenly.
Jan of the Windmill|Juliana Horatia Ewing
I have not left him an excuse; and then it is that I display all my courtesy, in order to attain the happy issue of my project.
Louise de la Valliere|Alexandre Dumas, Pere
But you'll excuse me if I say that I scarcely expected to have the railroad company's field-manager come and tell me about it.
The Honorable Senator Sage-Brush|Francis Lynde
There is one excuse for me—I did not then know what love meant.
Wives and Widows; or The Broken Life|Ann S. Stephens
After glancing through the book, I made an excuse to hurry away and inform Her Majesty.
Two Years in the Forbidden City|The Princess Der Ling
British Dictionary definitions for excuse
excuse
verb (ɪkˈskjuːz) (tr)
to pardon or forgivehe 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 lenientlyto excuse someone's ignorance
to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justifyher age excuses her behaviour
to exempt from a task, obligation, etcyou are excused making breakfast
to dismiss or allow to leavehe asked them to excuse him
to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leavehe excused himself and left
be excusedeuphemisticto 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 (ɪkˈskjuːs)
an explanation offered in defence of some fault or offensive behaviour or as a reason for not fulfilling an obligation, etche gave no excuse for his rudeness
informalan inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substituteshe is a poor excuse for a hostess