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Excuse   /ɪkskjˈus/  /ɪkskjˈuz/   Listen
noun
Excuse  n.  
1.
The act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation. "Pleading so wisely in excuse of it."
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."
3.
That which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault. "It hath the excuse of youth." "If eyes were made for seeing. Then beauty is its own excuse for being."
Synonyms: See Apology.


verb
Excuse  v. t.  (past & past part. excused; pres. part. excusing)  
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."
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."
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."
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."
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?"
Synonyms: 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.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Excuse" Quotes from Famous Books



... about his own judgment and wish, before absolutely settling the case, to obtain the opinion of an expert. When, however, he learned that the opinion of Herod coincided with his own, there was no further excuse for delay. ...
— The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ - A Devotional History of our Lord's Passion • James Stalker
... up old stories; what is done cannot be undone. You, as a father, ought to excuse little subterfuges, contrived in order to get a daughter off one's hands. I was so anxious to ally myself with your distinguished family that I did sail rather near the wind. But I have come to offer you some amends by putting you on ...
— Tales of Bengal • S. B. Banerjea
... ill-disposed towards the ancient regime, hostile to Catholicism and feudal rights, unfavorable to the clergy and the nobility, inclined to extend the bearing and exaggerate the rigor of recent decrees, partisans of the Rights of Man, and, therefore, humanitarians and optimists, disposed to excuse the misdeeds of the people, hesitating, tardy and often timid in the face of an outbreak—in short, admirable writers, exhorters, and reformers, but good for nothing when it comes to breaking heads and risking their own bones. They have not been ...
— The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 2 (of 6) - The French Revolution, Volume 1 (of 3) • Hippolyte A. Taine
... Leverett was having a hard fight with himself. He was really ashamed of having been conquered by what he called a boy's romantic passion. He could excuse himself for the early lapse; he was a boy then. His honor and what he called good sense were mightily at war with this desire that well-nigh overmastered him. True, men older than he had married young wives. But this child had been entrusted to ...
— A Little Girl in Old Salem • Amanda Minnie Douglas
... words of the law, and I urge this the more lest any persons should draw dangerous inferences to shadow their traitorous acts. Gentlemen, the King is the vicegerent of God, and has no superior. If any man shall shroud himself under any pretended authority, you must know that this is not an excuse, but the ...
— The Shadow of a Crime - A Cumbrian Romance • Hall Caine


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