EXCUSE

apology, excuse

(noun) a poor example; “it was an apology for a meal”; “a poor excuse for an automobile”

excuse

(noun) a note explaining an absence; “he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him”

excuse, alibi, exculpation, self-justification

(noun) a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; “he kept finding excuses to stay”; “every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job”; “his transparent self-justification was unacceptable”

excuse, condone

(verb) excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; “excuse someone’s behavior”; “She condoned her husband’s occasional infidelities”

excuse, explain

(verb) serve as a reason or cause or justification of; “Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work”; “Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again”

excuse, relieve, let off, exempt

(verb) grant exemption or release to; “Please excuse me from this class”

excuse, beg off

(verb) ask for permission to be released from an engagement

apologize, apologise, excuse, rationalize, rationalise

(verb) defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; “rationalize the child’s seemingly crazy behavior”; “he rationalized his lack of success”

excuse, pardon

(verb) accept an excuse for; “Please excuse my dirty hands”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

---

Etymology

Verb

excuse (third-person singular simple present excuses, present participle excusing, simple past and past participle excused)

(transitive) To forgive; to pardon.

(transitive) To allow to leave, or release from any obligation.

(transitive) To provide an excuse for; to explain, with the aim of alleviating guilt or negative judgement.

To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.

Synonyms

• (to release from guilt, shame, or punishment): forgive, let off the hook, let pass, pardon, unguilt

Noun

excuse (countable and uncountable, plural excuses)

(countable, uncountable) Explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault.

(legal) 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.

(with preceding negative adjective, especially sorry, poor or lame) An example of something that is substandard or of inferior quality.

Usage notes

• We often say to make an excuse.

Synonyms

• (explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment): pretext

Source: Wiktionary

---

Ex*cuse", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Excused; p. pr. & vb. n. Excusing.] Etym: [OE. escusen, cusen, OF. escuser, excuser, F. excuser, fr. L. excusare; ex out + causa cause, causari to plead. See Cause.]

1. To free from accusation, or the imputation of fault or blame; to clear from guilt; to release from a charge; to justify by extenuating a fault; to exculpate; to absolve; to acquit. A man's persuasion that a thing is duty, will not excuse him from guilt in practicing it, if really and indeed it be against Gog's law. Abp. Sharp.

2. To pardon, as a fault; to forgive entirely, or to admit to be little censurable, and to overlook; as, we excuse irregular conduct, when extraordinary circumstances appear to justify it. I must excuse what can not be amended. Shak.

3. To regard with indulgence; to view leniently or to overlook; to pardon. And in our own (excuse some courtly stains.) No whiter page than Addison remains. Pope.

4. To free from an impending obligation or duty; hence, to disengage; to dispense with; to release by favor; also, to remit by favor; not to exact; as, to excuse a forfeiture. I pray thee have me excused. xiv. 19.

5. To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for. Think ye that we excuse ourselves to you 2 Cor. xii. 19.

Syn.

– To vindicate; exculpate; absolve; acquit. - To Pardon, Excuse, Forgive. A superior pardons as an act of mercy or generosity; either a superior or an equal excuses. A crime, great fault, or a grave offence, as one against law or morals, may be pardoned; a small fault, such as a failure in social or conventional obligations, slight omissions or neglects may be excused. Forgive relates to offenses against one's self, and punishment foregone; as, to forgive injuries or one who has injured us; to pardon grave offenses, crimes, and criminals; to excuse an act of forgetfulness, an unintentional offense. Pardon is also a word of courtesy employed in the sense of excuse.

Ex*cuse", n. Etym: [Cf. F. excuse. See Excuse, v. t.]

1. The act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation. Pleading so wisely in excuse of it. Shak.

2. That which is offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or irregular deportment; apology; as, an excuse for neglect of duty; excuses for delay of payment. Hence with denial vain and coy excuse. Milton.

3. That which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault. "It hath the excuse of youth." Shak. If eyes were made for seeing. Then beauty is its own excuse for being. Emerson.

Syn.

– See Apology.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

---