Free TranslationFree Translation
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home 		English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Excuse   /ɪkskjˈus/  /ɪkskjˈuz/   Listen
noun
Excuse  n.  
1.
The act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation. "Pleading so wisely in excuse of it."
2.
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. "Hence with denial vain and coy excuse."
3.
That which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault. "It hath the excuse of youth." "If eyes were made for seeing. Then beauty is its own excuse for being."
Synonyms: See Apology.


verb
Excuse  v. t.  (past & past part. excused; pres. part. excusing)  
1.
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. "A man's persuasion that a thing is duty, will not excuse him from guilt in practicing it, if really and indeed it be against Gog's law."
2.
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. "I must excuse what can not be amended."
3.
To regard with indulgence; to view leniently or to overlook; to pardon. "And in our own (excuse some courtly stains.) No whiter page than Addison remains."
4.
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. "I pray thee have me excused."
5.
To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for. "Think ye that we excuse ourselves to you?"
Synonyms: To vindicate; exculpate; absolve; acquit. To Pardon, Excuse, Forgive. A superior pardons as an act of mercy or generosity; either a superior or an equal excuses. A crime, great fault, or a grave offence, as one against law or morals, may be pardoned; a small fault, such as a failure in social or conventional obligations, slight omissions or neglects may be excused. Forgive relates to offenses against one's self, and punishment foregone; as, to forgive injuries or one who has injured us; to pardon grave offenses, crimes, and criminals; to excuse an act of forgetfulness, an unintentional offense. Pardon is also a word of courtesy employed in the sense of excuse.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words


Share |




"Excuse" Quotes from Famous Books



... in a chair just inside the big door of the shed, near a small stove in which was a fire to take off the chill of the big place. The guard had slept all day, and there was no excuse for him nodding in the way ...
— Tom Swift in the Caves of Ice • Victor Appleton
... sparkling with joy. Just then the door opened, and the jailer, addressing himself to Bertuccio, said,—"Excuse me, sir, but the examining magistrate is waiting ...
— The Count of Monte Cristo • Alexandre Dumas, Pere
... against whom it was dangerous to dispute; and in the four hundred years of the reign of the caliphs, the political climate of Jerusalem was exposed to the vicissitudes of storm and sunshine. [59] By the increase of proselytes and population, the Mahometans might excuse the usurpation of three fourths of the city: but a peculiar quarter was resolved for the patriarch with his clergy and people; a tribute of two pieces of gold was the price of protection; and the sepulchre of Christ, with the church of the Resurrection, was ...
— The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume 5 • Edward Gibbon
... of the court, and the perplexity arising from thinking in a language different from that in which he was to express himself, kept him silent. There was a murmur of compassion among the spectators, from the idea that the poor fellow intended to plead the influence of his superior as an excuse for his crime. The Judge commanded silence, and encouraged Evan to proceed. 'I was only ganging to say, my lord,' said Evan, in what he meant to be an insinuating manner, 'that if your excellent honour and the honourable Court would let Vich Ian Vohr go free just this once, and let him ...
— Waverley, Or 'Tis Sixty Years Hence, Complete • Sir Walter Scott
... her ancient prototype, Cartagena succumbed to the very influences which had made her great. Her wealth excited the cupidity of freebooters, and her power aroused the jealousy of her formidable rivals. Her religion itself became an excuse for the plundering hands of Spain's enemies. Again and again the city was called upon to defend the challenge which her riches and massive walls perpetually issued. Again and again she was forced to yield to the heavy tributes and disgraceful penalties of buccaneers and legalized pirates ...
— Carmen Ariza • Charles Francis Stocking


More quotes...


Copyright © 2025 e-Free Translation.com