Excuse

Verb

 * 1)  To forgive; to pardon.
 * I excused him his transgressions.
 * 1)  To allow to leave.
 * May I be excused from the table?
 * I excused myself from the proceedings to think over what I'd heard.
 * 1)  To provide an excuse for; to explain, with the aim of alleviating guilt or negative judgement.
 * You know he shouldn't have done it, so don't try to excuse his behavior!

Noun

 * 1) An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment.
 * Tell me why you were late – and I don't want to hear any excuses!

Adjectives for Excuse
apparent; plausible; sheepish; sufficient; audible; penitent; ominous; coy; lawful; puerile; crazy; fair; generous; bare; specious; voluble; cleanly-coined; deft; bashful; dingy; unblushing; flimsy; useful; reasonable; truthful; ready; legitimate; good; slightest; time-honored; inept; fabricated; unspeakable.

Verbs for Excuse
accept—; beg for—; condone—; defend with—; demand—; denounce—; furnish—; hatch—; invent—; judge—; offer—; plead—; pray for—; present—; produce—; propose as—; request—; require—; seek—; seize on—; shape—; —absolves; —acquits; —amends; —exonerates; —explains; —infuriates; —justifies; —patches up; —releases; —suffices; —vindicates.

Adverbs for Excuse
ostensibly; pleasantly; apparently; plausibly; sheepishly; audibly; penitently; ominously; coyly; speciously; volubly; deftly; reasonably; ineptly.

Synonyms for Excuse

 * (forgive): forgive, let off the hook, let pass, pardon
 * (explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment): pretext
 * apology, defense, extenuation, pretext, vindication, reason, plea, explanation, alibi

Derived terms

 * excuse me
 * excuse my French

Thesaurus
abject apology, absolution, absolve, acknowledgment, acquit, acquittal, acquittance, alibi, alibi out of, allow, amnesty, apologize for, apology, basis, be blind to, blind, breast-beating, cause, clear, clearance, clearing, cloak, color, compurgation, condonation, condone, confession, contrition, cop-out, cover, cover story, cover with excuses, cover-up, decontaminate, defence, defend, defense, destigmatization, destigmatize, destigmatizing, device, discharge, disculpation, dismiss, dismissal, dispense, dispense from, dispense with, disregard, escape, evasion, except, exculpate, exculpation, exempt, exempt from, exemption, exonerate, exoneration, explain, explanation, extenuate, extenuation, facade, feint, forgive, forgiveness, foundation, free, front, give absolution, give dispensation from, gloss, gloss over, grace, grant amnesty to, grant forgiveness, grant immunity, grant remission, grounds, guise, handle, heedlessness, ignore, immunity, indemnity, indulgence, justification, justify, lame excuse, let go, let off, liberate, lie out of, likely story, locus standi, loophole, make apology for, makeshift, mask, mea culpa, mitigate, mitigation, nonpros, offer excuse for, ostensible motive, out, overlook, palliate, palliation, pardon, pass over, penitence, permit, plea, plead ignorance, poor excuse, pretense, pretension, pretext, protestation, public motive, purgation, purge, purging, put-off, quash the charge, quietus, quittance, rational ground, rationale, rationalization, rationalize, reason, reason for, reason why, redemption, refuge, regrets, release, relieve, remise, remission, remission of sin, remit, reprieve, right, save the necessity, screen, semblance, set free, sham, shift, show, shrift, shrive, shrug off, smoke screen, spare, sparing, squirm out of, stalking-horse, stall, stated cause, stopgap, story, stratagem, substitute, subterfuge, the big idea, the idea, the whatfor, the wherefore, the why, trick, underlying reason, varnish, veil, verdict of acquittal, vindicate, vindication, warrant, way out, whitewash, wink at, withdraw the charge, worm out of

Etymology
< excusen: <  escuser: <  excuso: < ex: + causa:; see cause and accuse.

Pronunciation
Verb

Noun

Verb

 * American Sign Language:
 * Arabic: غفر
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: ,
 * Czech:
 * Dutch: vergeven, excuseren
 * French: ,
 * German: ,
 * Italian: ,
 * Japanese:
 * Latin: mihi ignosco, ,


 * Malayalam: ക്ഷമിയ്ക്കുക (kshamiykkuka)
 * Norwegian:
 * Polish: wybaczyć
 * Portuguese: desculpar, perdoar
 * Romanian:
 * Russian:, ;  ,
 * Scottish Gaelic:
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swedish:
 * Tagalog: patawarin, magpatawad


 * Arabic: اعتذر
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: 請求離開, 请求离开
 * Dutch: verontschuldigen, excuseren
 * French:
 * German: sich entschuldigen
 * Italian:
 * Japanese: 言い訳をする


 * Latin:
 * Polish: usprawiedliwić
 * Portuguese: dar passagem
 * Russian: извиняться
 * Tagalog: hayaan


 * American Sign Language:
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: ,
 * Dutch: goedpraten
 * French: ,
 * German:
 * Hebrew: תירוץ
 * Italian: ,


 * Latin: utior
 * Polish: usprawiedliwić
 * Portuguese: desculpar-se
 * Russian: оправдать,  оправдывать

Noun

 * American Sign Language:
 * Arabic: عذر
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, ,
 * Czech: (apology),  (dishonest),  (dishonest)
 * Dutch: ,
 * Esperanto:
 * French: ,
 * German:
 * Hebrew: תירוץ,


 * Irish:
 * Italian: ,
 * Japanese:, , 弁解
 * Malayalam: ക്ഷമാപണം (kshamaapaNam), ഒഴിവുകഴിവ് (ozhivu kazhivu)
 * Norwegian: unnskyldning
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian: оправдание,, извинение
 * Scottish Gaelic:
 * Spanish:
 * Tagalog: dahilan
 * Turkish: bahane

Noun

 * 1) excuse