excuse
Definitions
verb
(tr)- to pardon or forgive ⇒
he 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 leniently ⇒
to excuse someone's ignorance
- to serve as an apology or explanation for; vindicate or justify ⇒
her age excuses her behaviour
- to exempt from a task, obligation, etc ⇒
you are excused making breakfast
- to dismiss or allow to leave ⇒
he asked them to excuse him
- to seek permission for (someone, esp oneself) to leave ⇒
he excused himself and left
- See be excused
- See excuse me!
noun
- 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
- informal an inferior example of something specified; makeshift; substitute ⇒
she is a poor excuse for a hostess
- the act of excusing
Alternative Forms
exˈcusable adjective exˈcusableness noun exˈcusably adverbWord Origin
C13: from Latin excusāre, from ex-C13: from Latin from 1 + from cause, accusation + -cūsare, from causa cause, accusationSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
forgive,
pardon,
overlook,
tolerate,
indulge,
acquit,
pass over,
turn a blind eye to,
exonerate,
absolve,
bear with,
wink at,
make allowances for
extenuate,
exculpate,
Quotations
"Two wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse"
"And oftentimes excusing of a faultDoth make the fault the worser by th'excuse"
"Several excuses are always less convincing than one"
"A real failure does not need an excuse. It is an end in itself"
Translations
- British English:
excuse
An excuse is a reason which you give in order to explain why something has been done or has not been done, or to avoid doing something.I made an excuse and ran towards the door.ɪkˈskjuːs NOUN I made an excuse and ran towards the door. - Spanish:
excusa
nf
- French:
excuse
nf
- German:
Entschuldigung
nf
- Chinese: 借口 n
- Arabic: عُذْر n
- Portuguese: desculpa nf
- Russian: оправдание nnt
- Croatian: isprika nf
- Czech: omluva nf
- Danish: undskyldning nutr
- Dutch: excuus nnt
- Finnish: selitys n
- Greek: δικαιολογία nf
- Italian: scusa nf
- Japanese: 弁解 n
- Korean: 변명 n
- Norwegian: unnskyldning nm
- Polish: usprawiedliwienie nnt
- Brazilian Portuguese: desculpa nf
- European Spanish:
excusa
nf
- Swedish: ursäkt nutr
- Thai: ข้อแก้ตัว n
- Turkish: özür n
- Vietnamese: lý do bào chữa n
- British English:
excuse
To excuse someone or to excuse their behaviour means to provide reasons for their actions, especially when other people disapprove of these actions.That doesn't excuse my mother's behaviour.ɪkˈskjuːz VERB That doesn't excuse my mother's behaviour.
- Spanish:
disculpar
v
- French:
excuser
vt
- German:
entschuldigen
v
- Chinese: 原谅 v
- Arabic: يَعْذِرُ vt
- Portuguese: desculpar v
- Russian: извинять v
- Croatian: ispričati v
- Czech: omluvit (se) v omlouvat (se)
- Danish: undskylde v
- Dutch: excuseren v
- Finnish: puolustella v
- Greek: δικαιολογώ v
- Italian: scusare v
- Japanese: 弁解する v
- Korean: 변명하다 v
- Norwegian: unnskylde v
- Polish: usprawiedliwić v usprawiedliwiać
- Brazilian Portuguese: desculpar v
- European Spanish:
disculpar
v
- Swedish: ursäkta v
- Thai: แก้ตัว v
- Turkish: özür beyan etmek v
- Vietnamese: tha lỗi v
Usage examples
Maybe all my idealistic views on sex were just an excuse not to do it.
, READY? (2001)Still, a quest for a corncrake is as good an excuse as any to return to this exquisite river valley.
Country Life (2005)They are using the riots as an excuse not to give us the funds.
Irish Times (2002)We never once suspected our testicles of contriving this excuse.
, MORTIFICATION: Writers' Stories of their Public Shame (2003)