EXCUSE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for EXCUSE?

Need another word that means the same as “excuse”? Find 63 synonyms and 30 related words for “excuse” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Excuse” are: condone, beg off, explain, pardon, exempt, let off, relieve, apologise, apologize, rationalise, rationalize, justify, defend, make excuses for, make a case for, explain away, vindicate, warrant, forgive, absolve, exonerate, acquit, not take into consideration, disregard, take no notice of, take no account of, make allowances for, let pass, turn a blind eye to, wink at, blink at, connive at, let someone off with, let go, sink, bury, let bygones be bygones, release, spare, free, liberate, alibi, exculpation, self-justification, apology, justification, defence, reason, explanation, mitigation, extenuation, palliation, vindication, pretext, pretence, front, cover-up, fabrication, evasion, travesty of, apology for, poor specimen of, mockery of

Excuse as a Noun

Definitions of "Excuse" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “excuse” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A note explaining an absence.
• A poor example.
• A defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
• A poor or inadequate example of.
• A reason or explanation given to justify a fault or offence.
• A note written by a doctor or parent excusing a pupil from school.
• A reason put forward to conceal the real reason for an action; a pretext.

Synonyms of "Excuse" as a noun (22 Words)

alibi	(law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question. A catch all alibi for failure and inadequacy.
apology	A formal written defense of something you believe in strongly. It was an apology for a meal.
apology for	A poor example.
cover-up	Concealment that attempts to prevent something scandalous from becoming public.
defence	Fortifications or barriers against attack. The defence requested more time to prepare their case.
evasion	The action of evading something. The protestations and evasions of a witness.
exculpation	The act of freeing from guilt or blame.
explanation	Thought that makes something comprehensible. I heard his explanation of the accident.
extenuation	The process of making someone or something thin. He s always ready with extenuations and disclaimers.
fabrication	The act of constructing something (as a piece of machinery. The assembly and fabrication of electronic products.
front	The part of a garment covering a person s front. The Japanese were active last week on the diplomatic front.
justification	The action or manner of justifying a line of type or piece of text. All these incidents were used again as a justification for my sacking.
mitigation	To act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious. The identification and mitigation of pollution.
mockery of	A composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody’s style, usually in a humorous way.
palliation	To act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious.
poor specimen of	People without possessions or wealth (considered as a group.
pretence	The practice of inventing imaginary situations in play. His anger is masked by a pretence that all is well.
pretext	Something serving to conceal plans; a fictitious reason that is concocted in order to conceal the real reason. The rebels had the perfect pretext for making their move.
reason	A cause, explanation, or justification for an action or event. She asked him to return but didn t give a reason.
self-justification	A defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
travesty of	A composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody’s style, usually in a humorous way.
vindication	Proof that someone or something is right, reasonable, or justified. Friends provided a vindication of his position.

Usage Examples of "Excuse" as a noun

• There can be no excuse for any further delay.
• He had to get his mother to write an excuse for him.
• As an excuse to get out of the house she went to post a letter.
• The excuse that half the team failed to turn up.
• That pathetic excuse for a man!
• He kept finding excuses to stay.
• A poor excuse for an automobile.

Excuse as a Verb

Definitions of "Excuse" as a verb

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “excuse” as a verb can have the following definitions:

• Serve as a reason or cause or justification of.
• (used by school pupils) be allowed to leave the room, especially to go to the toilet.
• Say politely that one is leaving.
• Defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning.
• Excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with.
• Release (someone) from a duty or requirement.
• Forgive (someone) for a fault or offence.
• Seek to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offence); try to justify.
• Grant exemption or release to.
• Ask for permission to be released from an engagement.
• (of a fact) serve to mitigate (a person or act.
• (used in polite formulas) allow (someone) to leave a room or gathering.
• Overlook or make allowances for.
• Accept an excuse for.

Synonyms of "Excuse" as a verb (41 Words)

absolve	Grant remission of a sin to. I absolve you from this responsibility.
acquit	Pronounce not guilty of criminal charges. The goalkeeper acquitted himself well.
apologise	Acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing.
apologize	Acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing. I must apologize for disturbing you like this.
beg off	Make a solicitation or entreaty for something; request urgently or persistently.
blink at	Briefly shut the eyes.
bury	Dismiss from the mind; stop remembering. He ran through to bury a right foot shot inside the near post.
condone	Accept (behaviour that is considered morally wrong or offensive. Those arrested were released and the exhibition was officially condoned a few weeks later.
connive at	Form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner.
defend	Speak or write in favour of (an action or person); attempt to justify. He defended his policy of imposing high rates.
disregard	Give little or no attention to. The body of evidence is too substantial to disregard.
exempt	Grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to. She exempted me from the exam.
exonerate	Pronounce not guilty of criminal charges. An inquiry exonerated those involved.
explain	Define. This would explain why so many adult children still live with their parents.
explain away	Serve as a reason or cause or justification of.
forgive	Stop blaming or grant forgiveness. She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday.
free	Free from obligations or duties. We are freeing management time for alternative work.
justify	(used of God) declare innocent; absolve from the penalty of sin. Justify the margins.
let bygones be bygones	Cause to move; cause to be in a certain position or condition.
let go	Grant use or occupation of under a term of contract.
let off	Grant use or occupation of under a term of contract.
let pass	Leave unchanged.
let someone off with	Leave unchanged.
liberate	Free (someone) from social conventions, especially those concerned with accepted sexual roles. The students liberated their slaves upon graduating from the university.
make a case for	Put in order or neaten.
make allowances for	To compose or represent.
make excuses for	Carry out or commit.
not take into consideration	Accept or undergo, often unwillingly.
pardon	Grant a pardon to. He was pardoned for his treason.
rationalise	Defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning.
rationalize	Remove irrational quantities from. Rationalize the child s seemingly crazy behavior.
release	Release as from one s grip. Compensation for the cost of rebuilding is only released when work begins.
relieve	Relieve oneself of troubling information. He dispatched an expedition to relieve the city.
sink	Cause to sink. He saw the coffin sink below the surface of the waves.
spare	Refrain from harming. He asked if they could spare one of their horses to speed his journey.
take no account of	Take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs.
take no notice of	Ascertain or determine by measuring, computing or take a reading from a dial.
turn a blind eye to	Get by buying and selling.
vindicate	Clear (someone) of blame or suspicion. More sober views were vindicated by events.
warrant	Provide adequate grounds to justify (a certain course of action. I warrant this information.
wink at	Briefly shut the eyes.

Usage Examples of "Excuse" as a verb

• You must excuse my brother.
• And now, if you'll excuse us, duty calls.
• May I be excused hockey?
• His ability excuses most of his faults.
• Please, Miss, can I be excused?
• Sit down—excuse the mess.
• Excuse someone's behavior.
• Please excuse me from this class.
• Please excuse my dirty hands.
• He did nothing to hide or excuse Jacob's cruelty.
• It will not be possible to excuse you from attendance.
• I had to excuse myself and go out of the room.
• Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work.
• He could be excused for feeling that he was born at the wrong time.

Associations of "Excuse" (30 Words)

alibi	Exonerate by means of an alibi. A catch all alibi for failure and inadequacy.
attest	Enrol as ready for military service. His numerous drawings of babies attest to his fascination with them.
attributable	Capable of being attributed. This may be Leonardo s earliest securely attributable painting.
clarification	The action of making a statement or situation less confused and more comprehensible. The professor s clarification helped her to understand the textbook.
confirm	Administer the religious rite of confirmation to. The children were confirmed in their mother s faith.
develop	Cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development. Develop a passion for painting.
elucidate	Make (something) clear; explain. Work such as theirs will help to elucidate this matter.
enlighten	Shed light on (an object. Christopher had not enlightened Francis as to their relationship.
equivocate	Be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information. The government have equivocated too often in the past.
equivocation	Intentionally vague or ambiguous. I say this without equivocation.
evasion	Nonperformance of something distasteful (as by deceit or trickery) that you are supposed to do. His evasion of all his creditors.
expatiate	Speak or write in detail about. She expatiated on working class novelists.
explanation	Thought that makes something comprehensible. The explanation was very simple.
explicate	Elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses. These essays seek to explicate and contextualize Kristeva s writings.
explicit	Of a person stating something in an explicit manner. A sexually explicit blockbuster.
fabrication	The deliberate act of deviating from the truth. The assembly and fabrication of electronic products.
hydrostatics	The branch of mechanics concerned with the hydrostatic properties of liquids.
interpretation	The action of explaining the meaning of something. The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.
justification	Good reason for something that exists or has been done. The justification of revolutionary action.
justify	Show or prove to be right or reasonable. The situation was grave enough to justify further investigation.
palliation	To act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious.
pretext	A reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason. The rebels had the perfect pretext for making their move.
prevarication	A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth.
prove	Prove formally demonstrate by a mathematical formal proof. The scheme has proved a great success.
rationale	An explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature. The rationale for capital punishment.
rationalization	The action of attempting to explain or justify behaviour or an attitude with logical reasons, even if these are not appropriate. The London dockers struggle to preserve their jobs against ruthless rationalization.
rationalize	Structure and run according to rational or scientific principles in order to achieve desired results. If we rationalize production will that mean redundancies.
reason	Decide by reasoning draw or come to a conclusion. He had to rely less on reason than on rousing their emotions.
validate	Declare or make legally valid. Without Patti to validate my feelings they seemed not to exist.
why	The cause or intention underlying an action or situation especially in the phrase the whys and wherefores. Why don t I give you a lift.