Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
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.
EXPANDto 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.
COLLAPSEto allow (someone) to leave: If you'll excuse me, I have to make a telephone call.
noun
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.
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Excuses
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
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.) Middle English escusen < Old French escuser < Latin excūsāre to put outside, exonerate, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + -cūsāre, derivative of causa cause; (noun) Middle English escuse < Old French, derivative of escuser; modern spelling with ex- on the model of ex-1
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English escusen < Old French escuser < Latin excūsāre to put outside, exonerate, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + -cūsāre, derivative of causa cause; (noun) Middle English escuse < Old French, derivative of escuser; modern spelling 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
EXPANDex·cus·er, noun
ex·cus·ing·ly, adverb
ex·cus·ive, adjective
ex·cus·ive·ly, adverb
non·ex·cus·a·ble, adjective
non·ex·cus·a·ble·ness, noun
non·ex·cus·a·b·ly, adverb
pre·ex·cuse, verb (used with object), -cused, -cus·ing.
self-ex·cuse, noun
self-ex·cused, adjective
self-ex·cus·ing, adjective
un·ex·cus·a·ble, adjective
un·ex·cus·a·b·ly, adverb
un·ex·cused, adjective
un·ex·cus·ing, adjective
COLLAPSESynonyms
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.
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To Excuses
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
excuse
early 13c., "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 mid-15c.; that of "to accept another's plea of excuse"
EXPANDis from early 14c. 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 c.1600.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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