excuse

Plural: excuses

Noun

• a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
  • "he kept finding excuses to stay"
• a note explaining an absence
  • "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
• a poor example
  • "a poor excuse for an automobile"
• An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault.
• A defense to a criminal or civil charge wherein the accused party admits to doing acts for which legal consequences would normally be appropriate, but asserts that special circumstances relieve that party of culpability for having done those acts.
• An example of something that is substandard or of inferior quality.

Verb

Verb Forms: excused, excusing, excuses

• To offer a justification for; to forgive a fault.
• accept an excuse for
  • "Please excuse my dirty hands"
• grant exemption or release to
  • "Please excuse me from this class"
• serve as a reason or cause or justification of
  • "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"
• defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
• ask for permission to be released from an engagement
• excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
  • "excuse someone's behavior"
• To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.
• To allow to leave, or release from any obligation.
• To provide an excuse for; to justify.
• To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.

Examples

• He's a sorry excuse for a doctor.
• I excused him his transgressions.
• I excused myself from the proceedings to think over what I'd heard.
• I had to make an excuse for being late to the meeting.
• May I be excused from the table?
• Tell me why you were late – and I don't want to hear any excuses!
• That thing is a poor excuse for a gingerbread man. Hasn't anyone taught you how to bake?
• There’s no good way to EXCUSE a seven-point word when a fifty-point bingo was available.
• You know he shouldn't have done it, so don't try to excuse his behavior!

Synonyms

alibi, apologise, apologize, apology, beg off, condone, exculpation, exempt, explain, justify, let off, pardon, rationalise, rationalize, relieve, self-justification, absolve, acquit, adduce, bear with, clear, discharge, exonerate, forgive, let off the hook, let pass, overlook, plead, pretense, pretext, pretext release, tolerate, unguilt, vindicate

Antonyms

blame, punish

Related Words

rationalization