ex·cuse

(ĭk-skyo͞oz′)

tr.v. ex·cused, ex·cus·ing, ex·cus·es

a. To make allowance for; overlook or forgive: Please excuse the interruption.

b. To grant pardon to; forgive: We quickly excused the latecomer.

a. To apologize for (oneself) for an act that could cause offense: She excused herself for being late.

b. To explain (a fault or offense) in the hope of being forgiven or understood; try to justify: He arrived late and excused his tardiness by blaming it on the traffic. See Synonyms at forgive.

3. To serve as justification for: Witty talk does not excuse bad manners.

4. To free, as from an obligation or duty; exempt: She was excused from jury duty because she knew the plaintiff.

5. To give permission to leave; release: The child ate quickly and asked to be excused.

n. (ĭk-skyo͞os′)

1. An explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness.

2. A reason or grounds for excusing: Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

3. The act of excusing.

4. A note explaining an absence.

5. Informal An inferior example: a poor excuse for a poet; a sorry excuse for a car.

Idiom:

Excuse me

1. Used to acknowledge and ask forgiveness for an action that could cause offense.

2. Used to request that a statement be repeated.

[Middle English excusen, ultimately (partly via Old French excuser) from Latin excūsāre : ex-, ex- + causa, lawsuit; see cause.]

ex·cus′a·ble adj.

ex·cus′a·ble·ness n.

ex·cus′a·bly adv.

ex·cus′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

excuser

(ɪksˈkjuːzə)

a person who excuses

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

excuser - a person who pardons or forgives or excuses a fault or offense

forgiver, pardoner

individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"

Translations

excuseur

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Comme souligne dans le rapport du chef de l'Etat, le Sommet de l'UA a mis en exergue "la necessite de s'attaquer a toutes les conditions propices a la propagation du terrorisme et de l'extremisme violent, soulignant toutefois qu'aucune de ces conditions ne peut excuser ou justifier les actes de terrorisme".

L'UA felicite le president Bouteflika pour son rapport sur la lutte contre le terrorisme

Al-Hazimi introduced a controversial doctrine known as takfir al-'adhir, meaning "excommunication of the excuser." Derived from a strict reading of "the third nullifier," it stipulates that anyone who "excuses" the unbelief of an unbeliever has committed unbelief oneself and is therefore subject to takfir.

The Islamic State's Mufti on Trial: The Saga of the "Silsila 'Ilmiyya"

When Francis is in Dublin he should be forced to explain why he appointed this clerical child sex excuser a cardinal in June.

Scandal-hit Church only sorry that it got caught

Mon cher maitre et ami, J'ai ete oblige d'improviser un diner pour demain pour la Grande duchesse de Mecklemburg34 ; elle me demande un ou deux grands artistes ; c'est comme si elle m'avait dit votre nom ; voulezvous excuser le sans facon pour mon invitation et me faire le grand plaisir d'etre des notres ; vous retrouverez en tout cas comme amis mon beau pere Carolus qui sera enchante de passer une soiree avec vous.

<< CARO ED ILLUSTRE MAESTRO >> : UN LOT DE LETTRES ADRESSEES A JULES MASSENET, CONSERVE A LA BIBLIOTHEQUE HISTORIQUE DE LA VILLE DE PARIS

However, the Great Excuser is paving the way for transfer failure just in case by bulling up a couple of kids meant for tomorrow not today.

United need to strike soon in their search for goalscorers; Pressing problems for Pardew

Voulez-vous me permettre de faire la psychologie de ce crime, si je puis ainsi parler, sans rien attenuer, sans rien excuser? Vous jugerez ensuite.

The "accidental murderer": jury acquittal in Maupassant's crime stories

Le message de la litterature moderne serait, veuillez nous excuser le reductionnisme, << imitez tout ce que je fais pour ne pas imiter les autres >>.

L'autre du corps et l'autre de l'esprit. Abdellah Ta'ia, L'Armee du salut

Toutefois, dans certaines decisions, le test semble avoir echoue implicitement a l'etape de l'analyse de << l'importance de l'objectif >> lorsque la Cour a simplement indique que << les inconvements admimstratifs et les couts >> ne pouvaient pas excuser une violation.

L'application de l'article premier de la Charte aux droits linguistiques

Je prie les populations de nous excuser pour les desagrements causes, je demande l'arret des pillages", a souligne le capitaine Sanogo, qui a promis d'user de "tous les moyens necessaires pour mettre fin a ces exactions".

Le president ATT et son gouvernement "en securite"

You're always making excuses "The Excuser trots out lines like 'all the good ones are taken', 'I'm not picky', and 'there's someone for everyone except me'," says David.

10reason you haven't found; WM asked David Weller, of Being Totally Me, to outline the behaviours that could be ruining any Cinderella's happy ending. Plus, the lessons you can teach yourself now that will help you start ditching the fairytale lessons and making your own rules ..