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ex·cuse 
Audio Help [v. ik-skyooz; n. ik-skyoos] Pronunciation Key verb, -cused, -cus·ing, noun
—Related forms
Audio Help [v. ik-skyooz; n. ik-skyoos] Pronunciation Key verb, -cused, -cus·ing, noun –verb (used with object)
–noun
—Idiom
| 1. | to regard or judge with forgiveness or indulgence; pardon or forgive; overlook (a fault, error, etc.): Excuse his bad manners. |
| 2. | to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of: He excused his absence by saying that he was ill. |
| 3. | to serve as an apology or justification for; justify: Ignorance of the law excuses no one. |
| 4. | to release from an obligation or duty: to be excused from jury duty. |
| 5. | to seek or obtain exemption or release for (oneself): to excuse oneself from a meeting. |
| 6. | to refrain from exacting; remit; dispense with: to excuse a debt. |
| 7. | to allow (someone) to leave: If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call. |
| 8. | 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.: His excuse for being late was unacceptable. |
| 9. | a ground or reason for excusing or being excused: Ignorance is no excuse. |
| 10. | the act of excusing someone or something. |
| 11. | a pretext or subterfuge: He uses his poor health as an excuse for evading all responsibility. |
| 12. | an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified: That coward is barely an excuse for a man. Her latest effort is a poor excuse for a novel. |
| 13. | Excuse me, (used as a polite expression, as when addressing a stranger, when interrupting or disagreeing with someone, or to request repetition of what has just been said.) |
[Origin: 1175–1225; (v.) ME escusen < OF escuser < L excūsāre to put outside, exonerate, equiv. to ex- ex-1 + -cūsāre, deriv. of causa cause; (n.) ME escuse < OF, deriv. of escuser; modern sp. with ex- on the model of ex-1]
] —Related forms
ex·cus·a·ble, adjective
ex·cus·a·ble·ness, noun
ex·cus·a·bly, adverb
ex·cus·al, noun
ex·cuse·less, adjective
ex·cus·er, noun
ex·cus·ing·ly, adverb
ex·cus·ive, adjective
ex·cus·ive·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. Excuse, forgive, pardon imply being lenient or giving up the wish to punish. Excuse means to overlook some (usually) slight offense: to excuse bad manners. Forgive is applied to excusing more serious offenses: to forgive and forget. Pardon usually applies to a specific act of lenience or mercy by an official or superior: The governor was asked to pardon the condemned criminal. 3. extenuate, palliate. 4. free. 8. justification. Excuse, apology both imply an explanation of some failure or failing. Excuse implies a desire to avoid punishment or rebuke. Apology usually implies acknowledgment that one has been in the wrong. 11. pretense, evasion, makeshift.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Excuse
To learn more about Excuse visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| ex·cuse
Audio Help (ĭk-skyōōz') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. ex·cused, ex·cus·ing, ex·cus·es
n. (ĭk-skyōōs')
[Middle English excusen, from Old French excuser, from Latin excūsāre : ex-, ex- + causa, accusation; see cause.] ex·cus'a·ble adj., ex·cus'a·ble·ness n., ex·cus'a·bly adv., ex·cus'er n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
excuse (v.)
c.1225, "to clear (someone) from blame," from O.Fr. escuser, from L. excusare "release from a charge," from ex- "out, away" + causa "accusation, legal action" (see cause). Meaning "to obtain exemption or release" is from 1340; that of "to accept another's plea of excuse" is from c.1325. The noun sense of "that which is offered as a reason for being excused" is recorded from c.1500. Excuse me as a mild apology or statement of polite disagreement is from 1606.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| excuse | |
noun | |
| 1. | 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. | a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him" |
| 3. | a poor example; "it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor excuse for an automobile" [syn: apology] |
verb | |
| 1. | accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands" |
| 2. | grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class" |
| 3. | 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" |
| 4. | defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" [syn: apologize] |
| 5. | ask for permission to be released from an engagement |
| 6. | excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
excuse1 [ikˈskjuːz] verb
to forgive or pardon
Example: Excuse me — can you tell me the time?; I'll excuse your carelessness this time.
excuse2 [ikˈskjuːz] verbExample: Excuse me — can you tell me the time?; I'll excuse your carelessness this time.
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to free (someone) from a task, duty etc
Example: May I be excused from writing this essay?
excuse [ikˈskjuːzikˈskjuːs] nounExample: May I be excused from writing this essay?
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a reason (given by oneself) for being excused, or a reason for excusing
Example: He has no excuse for being so late.
See also: excusableExample: He has no excuse for being so late.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Main Entry: ex·cuse
Pronunciation: ik-'skyüz
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: ex·cused; ex·cus·ing
transitive verb1 : to grant exemption or release to <excused the prospective juror> <excused the witness after an hour of testimony>
2 : JUSTIFY intransitive verb : to serve as an excuse or justification <exigent circumstances may excuse —J. J.White and Railroad S. Summers>
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: ex·cuse
Pronunciation: ik-\\\'skyüz
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: ex·cused; ex·cus·ing
transitive verb1 : to grant exemption or release to <excused the prospective juror> <excused the witness after an hour of testimony>
2 : JUSTIFY intransitive verb : to serve as an excuse or justification <exigent circumstances may excuse —J. J.White and Railroad S. Summers>
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: ex·cuse
Pronunciation: ik-'skyüs
Function: noun
1 : ACT OF GOD, FORCE MAJEURE, FORTUITOUS EVENT, IMPOSSIBILITY OFPERFORMANCE b : a circumstance (as a physical threat) that grants immunity for otherwise tortious or criminal conduct —compare JUSTIFICATION, PRIVILEGE
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Main Entry: ex·cuse
Pronunciation: ik-\\\'skyüs
Function: noun
1 : ACT OF GOD, FORCE MAJEURE, FORTUITOUS EVENT, IMPOSSIBILITY OFPERFORMANCE b : a circumstance (as a physical threat) that grants immunity for otherwise tortious or criminal conduct —compare JUSTIFICATION, PRIVILEGE
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
Excuse
A*pol"o*gy\, n.; pl. Apologies. [L. apologia, Gr. ?; ? from + ?: cf. F. apologie. See Apologetic.]1. Something said or written in defense or justification of what appears to others wrong, or of what may be liable to disapprobation; justification; as, Tertullian's Apology for Christianity. It is not my intention to make an apology for my poem; some will think it needs no excuse, and others will receive none. --Dryden. 2. An acknowledgment intended as an atonement for some improper or injurious remark or act; an admission to another of a wrong or discourtesy done him, accompanied by an expression of regret. 3. Anything provided as a substitute; a makeshift. He goes to work devising apologies for window curtains. --Dickens. Syn: Excuse. Usage: An apology, in the original sense of the word, was a pleading off from some charge or imputation, by explaining and defending one's principles or conduct. It therefore amounted to a vindication. One who offers an apology, admits himself to have been, at least apparently, in the wrong, but brings forward some palliating circumstance, or tenders a frank acknowledgment, by way of reparation. We make an apology for some breach of propriety or decorum (like rude expressions, unbecoming conduct, etc.), or some deficiency in what might be reasonably expected. We offer an excuse when we have been guilty of some breach or neglect of duty; and we do it by way of extenuating our fault, and with a view to be forgiven. When an excuse has been accepted, an apology may still, in some cases, be necessary or appropriate. "An excuse is not grounded on the claim of innocence, but is rather an appeal for favor resting on some collateral circumstance. An apology mostly respects the conduct of individuals toward each other as equals; it is a voluntary act produced by feelings of decorum, or a desire for the good opinion of others." --Crabb.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Excuse
Ex*cus"a*ble\a. [L. excusabilis: cf. F. excusable. See Excuse.] That may be excused, forgiven, justified, or acquitted of blame; pardonable; as, the man is excusable; an excusable action. -- Ex*cus"a*ble*ness, n. -- Ex*cus"a*bly, adv. The excusableness of my dissatisfaction. --Boyle.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
excuse
excuse: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary
| On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB |
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