[
US
/ɪkˈskjus, ɪkˈskjuz/
]
VERB
- ask for permission to be released from an engagement
-
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
he rationalized his lack of success
rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior -
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 -
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
excuse someone's behavior
She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities -
accept an excuse for
Please excuse my dirty hands -
grant exemption or release to
Please excuse me from this class
NOUN
-
a poor example
it was an apology for a meal
a poor excuse for an automobile -
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job
his transparent self-justification was unacceptable
he kept finding excuses to stay -
a note explaining an absence
he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him
How To Use excuse In A Sentence
- We would have make it earlier, but I procrastinated with completed and sealed ballots sitting on my desk for a couple of days -- no good excuse, but the reminders to spare the GOTC callers (and ourselves) reminder calls goosed me into action. BlueOregon
- He'd come up with some charming excuse: he'd left his long filbert brush, he couldn't go on without it.
- She cast about for some excuse for refusing his proposal.
- Mariah excused her for doorbell duty and we all lounged out on the floor and sofa.
- Neither does it give them excuse for committing imprisonable crimes or for not making efforts to work to support themselves. Times, Sunday Times
- He made a poor joke or two and an excuse to leave. Times, Sunday Times
- Make polite excuses but don't go. The Sun
- We have seen how law and theory unite to provide a list of excuses which rebut the normal presumption of voluntariness.
- Country folk in both the United States and Mexico often live under unfortunate circumstances but that does not excuse your belittling them because you consider yourself to be "highborn". Small town living
- All recycling will be collected from the kerbside, so there will be no excuse whatsoever for people who claim that recycling is too much effort.
