Definitions for Excuseɪkˈskyuz; -ˈskyus

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

ex•cuse^*ɪkˈskyuz; -ˈskyus(v.; n.)-cused, -cus•ing

(v.t.)to regard or judge with indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.).
to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of:
He excused his absence by saying that he was ill.
to serve as an apology or justification for; justify:
Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
to release from an obligation or duty:
to be excused from jury duty.
to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself):
to excuse oneself from a meeting.
to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with:
to excuse a debt.
to allow (someone) to leave:
If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
Category: Common Vocabulary
(n.)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.
a ground or reason for excusing or being excused:
Ignorance is no excuse.
the act of excusing someone or something.
a pretext or subterfuge.
an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified:
His latest effort is a poor excuse for a poem.

Idioms for excuse:

Excuse me, (used as a polite expression in requesting permission to pass or when interrupting or disagreeing with someone).
Category: Idiom

^* Syn: excuse , forgive , pardon imply being lenient or giving up the wish to punish. excuse means to overlook some (usu.) slight offense, because of circumstance, realization that it was unintentional, or the like: to excuse rudeness. forgive is applied to excusing more serious offenses; the person wronged not only overlooks the offense but harbors no ill feeling against the offender: to forgive and forget. pardon often applies to an act of leniency or mercy by an official or superior; it usu. involves a serious offense or crime: The governor was asked to pardon the condemned criminal.

Origin of excuse:

1175–1225; ME escusen < OF escuser < L excūsāre=ex-ex -1+-cūsāre, der. of causacause

ex•cus′er(n.)

Princeton's WordNet

excuse, alibi, exculpation, self-justification(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"
excuse(noun)
a note explaining an absence
"he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
apology, excuse(verb)
a poor example
"it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor excuse for an automobile"
excuse, pardon(verb)
accept an excuse for
"Please excuse my dirty hands"
excuse, relieve, let off, exempt(verb)
grant exemption or release to
"Please excuse me from this class"
excuse, explain(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"
apologize, apologise, excuse, justify, rationalize, rationalise(verb)
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
"rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success"
excuse, beg off(verb)
ask for permission to be released from an engagement
excuse, condone(verb)
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
"excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

excuse(noun)ɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
an explanation for doing sth, used to try to avoid criticism
his excuse for being late; If you don't want to go, just make an excuse.
excuseɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
a reason for doing what you want
A wedding is a good excuse for buying new clothes.
excuse(verb)ɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
indicates you want sb to repeat what they said
"I'm going home now.""Excuse me?"
excuseɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
politely indicates you want sb's attention or are sorry for interrupting
Excuse me, could you hold this for me.
excuseɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
politely indicates you want sb to move
Excuse me, could I get past you?
excuseɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
≠ blame
Please excuse my terrible English.
excuseɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
to give a reason to make sth seem less bad
Nothing can excuse his bad language.
excuseɪkˈskyuz; n. -ˈskyus
to give permission to leave or not do
May I be excused? I don't feel well.; The coach excused him from training.

Wiktionary

excuse(Noun)
An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment.
Tell me why you were late uE000123945uE001 and I don't want to hear any excuses!
excuse(Verb)
To forgive; to pardon.
I excused him his transgressions.
excuse(Verb)
To allow to leave.
excuse(Verb)
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!

Origin: From excusen, from escuser, from excuso, from ex + causa; see cause and accuse.

Webster Dictionary

Excuse(verb)
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
Excuse(verb)
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
Excuse(verb)
to regard with indulgence; to view leniently or to overlook; to pardon
Excuse(verb)
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
Excuse(verb)
to relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for
Excuse(verb)
the act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation
Excuse(verb)
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
Excuse(verb)
that which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault