Excuse
[ɪk'skjuːz;ek-] or [ɪk'skjʊs]
Definition
(noun.) a note explaining an absence; 'he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him'.
(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'.
(verb.) excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; 'excuse someone's behavior'; 'She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities'.
(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'.
(verb.) grant exemption or release to; 'Please excuse me from this class'.
(verb.) ask for permission to be released from an engagement.
(verb.) accept an excuse for; 'Please excuse my dirty hands'.
Inputed by Gerard--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To regard with indulgence; to view leniently or to overlook; to pardon.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.
(v. t.) The act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) That which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault.
Typist: Ted
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Pardon, forgive, acquit, absolve, exculpate, exonerate, clear, make apology for, set right.[2]. Extenuate, justify, vindicate.[3]. Exempt, release, free, let off.[4]. Overlook, regard indulgently.
n. [1]. Apology, plea, justification, absolution.[2]. Pretext, pretence, color, guise, disguise, semblance, make shift, false show.
Checked by Karol
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Exculpate, absolve, pardon, forgive, overlook, condone, i_emit, indulge,justify, vindicate, defend, acquit, mitigate, extenuate, release, exempt,exonerate
ANT:Charge, inculpate, condemn, sentence, exact, strain, accuse
Editor: Lois
Definition
v.t. to free from blame or guilt: to forgive: to free from an obligation: to release dispense with: to make an apology or ask pardon for.—n. (eks-kūs′) a plea offered in extenuation of a fault: indulgence.—adj. Excus′able admitting of justification.—n. Excus′ableness.—adv. Excus′ably.—adj. Excus′atory making or containing excuse: apologetic.—Excuse me an expression used as an apology for any slight impropriety or for controverting a statement that has been made.
Checker: Williams
Examples
- His excuse was that his father refused his consent. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Excuse me, Lady Dedlock, says Mr. Tulkinghorn, quite unmoved. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- If as a set-off (excuse the legal phrase from a barrister-at-law) you would like to ask Tippins to tea, I pledge myself to make love to her. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- You will excuse her not coming to youshe is not ableshe is gone into her own roomI want her to lie down upon the bed. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Pray excuse me, Mrs. Lydgate. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- I made the first civil excuse that occurred to me for leaving Mr. Gilmore, and returned at once to the house. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The drone said unaffectedly, You will excuse me; I really cannot attend to the shop! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- There are no privileges, no rebates, and no excuses in the Kingdom of Heaven. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- You will make my excuses, my dear, as civilly as possible. Jane Austen. Emma.
- I was rather disappointed that I did not hear from her again speedily; but I made excuses for her, and was too busy, andmay I add? Jane Austen. Emma.
- There is no time to be lost, he went on, now speaking in French; and let us thrust to the wall all reluctance, all excuses, all minauderies. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- I rose, and, making my excuses, escaped from the house. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Hence he was not ready to frame excuses for this deliberate pursuit of small gains. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Make my excuses to him for not joining you both. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- If she had been in great pain one would have excused it, but she only wanted to bring us all here: I know her naughty tricks. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Mrs. Strong had declined to play, on the ground of not feeling very well; and her cousin Maldon had excused himself because he had some packing to do. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- I hope that I may be excused for entering on these personal details, as I give them to show that I have not been hasty in coming to a decision. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- If a woman can ever be excused for thinking only of herself, it is in a situation like Jane Fairfax's. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Clennam had excused himself. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- As Elinor was certain of seeing her in a couple of minutes, without taking that liberty, she begged to be excused. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- The simple morning meal now smoked on the table, for Mrs. Shelby had excused Aunt Chloe's attendance at the great house that morning. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- I thought, my father, said Lucie, excusing herself, with a pale face and in a faltering voice, that I heard strange feet upon the stairs. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Sissy, who all this time had been faintly excusing herself with tears in her eyes, was now waved over by the master of the house to Mr. Gradgrind. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- He was at Mr. Letterblair's punctually at seven, glad of the pretext for excusing himself soon after dinner. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- In excusing himself on account of a particular engagement, he offered the use of his apartment. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- He stayed but a little while, excusing himself on the ground that he had a cold; and Mary did not reappear before he left the house. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- These weaklings became self-excusing, self-indulging scoundrels. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- He wrote and sent off a brief note excusing himself for that day, and ordered dinner presently in his own rooms at the hotel. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
Checked by Ida