Definitions for Excuse
ɪkˈskyuz; -ˈskyusEx·cuse

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. 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"

2. excuse(noun)

   a note explaining an absence

   "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"

3. apology, excuse(verb)

   a poor example

   "it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor excuse for an automobile"

4. excuse, pardon(verb)

   accept an excuse for

   "Please excuse my dirty hands"

5. excuse, relieve, let off, exempt(verb)

   grant exemption or release to

   "Please excuse me from this class"

6. 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"

7. 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"

8. excuse, beg off(verb)

   ask for permission to be released from an engagement

9. excuse, condone(verb)

   excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with

   "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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!

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

2. excuse(Verb)

   To forgive; to pardon.

   I excused him his transgressions.

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

3. excuse(Verb)

   To allow to leave.

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

4. 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!

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

Webster Dictionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. 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

2. 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

3. Excuse(verb)

   to regard with indulgence; to view leniently or to overlook; to pardon

4. 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

5. 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

6. Excuse(verb)

   the act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation

7. 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

8. Excuse(verb)

   that which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Excuse

   In jurisprudence, an excuse or justification is a defense to criminal charges that is distinct from an exculpation. Exculpation is related concept which reduces or extinguishes a person's culpability and therefore a person's liability to pay compensation to the victim of a tort in the civil law. The "excuse" provides a mitigating factor for a group of persons sharing a common characteristic. Justification, as in justifiable homicide, vindicates or shows the justice. Thus, society approves of the purpose or motives underpinning some actions or the consequences flowing from them, and distinguishes those where the behavior cannot be approved but some excuse may be found in the characteristics of the defendant, e.g. that the accused was a serving police officer or suffering from a mental illness. Thus, a justification describes the quality of the act, whereas an excuse relates to the status or capacity in the accused. These factors can affect the resulting judgment which may be an acquittal, or in the case of a conviction may mitigate sentencing.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Excuse

   eks-kūz′, 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. [L. excusāre—ex, from, causa, a cause, accusation.]

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Excuse' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1312

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Excuse' in Nouns Frequency: #1660

3. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Excuse' in Verbs Frequency: #795

How to pronounce Excuse?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say Excuse in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Excuse in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Excuse in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Excuse in a Sentence

1. Esther Solano:

   The rallying cry right now is the economy and that can become an excuse to scrap anything related to matters of inclusion, equality or culture.

2. Jason Bateman:

   Not to belittle it or excuse it or anything, but in the entertainment industry it is incredibly common to have people who are, in quotes,' difficult,' and when you're in a privileged position to hire people, or have an influence in who does get hired, you make phone calls.

3. Stacey Abrams:

   Voter suppression is no longer billy clubs Jim Crow. It's closed polling sites + 6 hr waits w/o pay. COVID is no excuse, who needs to vote in person ? The disabled. The homeless or displaced. Voters w/language barriers. Folks who didn't get their ballots in time. Americans.

4. Michael Main:

   I have no excuse for my lack of responsibility with this matter, i have worked diligently my entire career to protect people, especially our youth. However, I have failed to do just that, and I’m devastated with my lack of accountability in this matter.

5. Evelyn Yang:

   I was in the exam room and I was dressed and ready to go. And then, at the last minute, he kind of made upan excuse, he said something about --You might need a C-section, and then he proceeded to grab me over to him and undress me and examine me internally ungloved. And at first, I was a little bit like, Whats going on here?

Images & Illustrations of Excuse

Popularity rank by frequency of use