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Definitions for Excuse

[1] to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.): Excuse his bad manners.
[2] to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of: He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.
[3] to serve as an apology or justification for; justify: Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
[4] to release from an obligation or duty: to be excused from jury duty.
[5] to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself): to excuse oneself from a meeting.
[6] to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with: to excuse a debt.
[7] to allow (someone) to leave: If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
[8] 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.
[9] a ground or reason for excusing or being excused: Ignorance is no excuse.
[10] the act of excusing someone or something.
[11] a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility.
[12] 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.
[13] 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.)
[14] to pardon or forgive he always excuses her unpunctuality
[15] to seek pardon or exemption for (a person, esp oneself) to excuse oneself for one's mistakes
[16] to make allowances for; judge leniently to excuse someone's ignorance
[17] to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justify her age excuses her behaviour
[18] to exempt from a task, obligation, etc you are excused making breakfast
[19] to dismiss or allow to leave he asked them to excuse him
[20] to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leave he excused himself and left
[21] be excused euphemistic to go to the lavatory
[22] excuse me! an expression used to catch someone's attention or to apologize for an interruption, disagreement, or social indiscretion
[23] 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
[24] informal an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute she is a poor excuse for a hostess
[25] the act of excusing

Words related to Excuse

justification, alibi, apology, trick, rationalization, pretext, substitute, acquit, pardon, explain, indulge, tolerate, forgive, relieve, spare, exempt, condone, defend, exonerate, whitewash

Words nearby Excuse

excursive, excursus, excurvature, excurved, excusatory, excuse, excuse me, excuse-me, excuss, excussio, excycloduction

Origin of Excuse

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English escusen < Old French escuser < Latin excūsāre to put outside, exonerate, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + -cūsāre, derivative of causa cause; (noun) Middle English escuse < Old French, derivative of escuser; modern spelling with ex- on the model of ex-1

Words that may be confused with Excuse

alibi, excuse, (see, usage, note, at, alibi), (see, synonym, study, at, the, current, entry)

Other words from Excuse

ex·cus·a·ble , adjective
ex·cus·a·ble·ness , noun
ex·cus·a·bly , adverb
ex·cus·al , noun
ex·cuse·less , adjective
ex·cus·er , noun
ex·cus·ing·ly , adverb
ex·cus·ive , adjective
ex·cus·ive·ly , adverb
non·ex·cus·a·ble , adjective
non·ex·cus·a·ble·ness , noun
non·ex·cus·a·bly , adverb
pre·ex·cuse , verb (used with object), pre·ex·cused, pre·ex·cus·ing.
self-ex·cuse , noun
self-ex·cused , adjective
self-ex·cus·ing , adjective
un·ex·cus·a·ble , adjective
un·ex·cus·a·bly , adverb
un·ex·cused , adjective
un·ex·cus·ing , adjective

Word origin for Excuse

C13: from Latin excusāre, from ex- 1 + -cūsare, from causa cause, accusation

Synonyms for Excuse

alibi, apology, justification, pretext, rationalization, substitute, trick, cleanup, cover, defense, disguise, evasion, expedient, extenuation, grounds, jive, makeshift, mitigation, plea, regrets, routine, semblance, shift, song, stall, stopgap, story, subterfuge, vindication, whitewash, cop-out, cover story, coverup, fish story, song and dance, why and wherefore