excuse
ex·cuse • v. / ikˈskyoōz/ [tr.] 1. attempt to lessen the blame attaching to (a fault or offense); seek to defend or justify: he did nothing to hide or excuse Jacob's cruelty. ∎ forgive (someone) for a fault or offense: you must excuse my sister. ∎ overlook or forgive (a fault or offense): sit down—excuse the mess. ∎ (of a fact or circumstance) serve in mitigation of (a person or act): his ability excuses most of his faults.2. release (someone) from a duty or requirement: it will not be possible to excuse you from jury duty. ∎ (used in polite formulas) allow (someone) to leave a room or gathering: now, if you'll excuse us, we have to be getting along. ∎ (excuse oneself) say politely that one is leaving. ∎ (be excused) (used esp. by school pupils) be allowed to leave the room, esp. to go to the bathroom: please, can I be excused?• n. / ikˈskyoōs/ 1. a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense: there can be no possible excuse for any further delay. ∎ a reason put forward to conceal the real reason for an action; a pretext: they use their hunting as an excuse to get away from their wives.2. (an excuse for) inf. a poor or inadequate example of: that pathetic excuse for a man!PHRASES: excuse me said politely in various contexts, for example when attempting to get someone's attention, asking someone to move, or interrupting or disagreeing with a speaker. ∎ said when asking someone to repeat what they have just said.make one's excuses say politely that one is leaving or cannot be present.DERIVATIVES: ex·cus·a·ble / -zəbəl/ adj.ex·cus·a·bly / -zəblē/ adv.ex·cus·a·to·ry / -zəˌtôrē/ adj.
excuse
So sb. XIV. — (O)F., f. excuser. The pronunc. with s instead of z in the sb. is due to the analogy of pairs like use, abuse vbs. and sbs., advise and advice, where the F. sbs. are masculines ending in s.
excuse
See also a bad excuse is better than none, ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it.
Excuse
EXCUSE
The explanation for the performance or nonperformance of a particular act; a reason alleged in court as a basis for exemption or relief from guilt.
An excuse is essentially a defense for an individual's conduct that is intended to mitigate the individual's blameworthiness for a particular act or to explain why the individual acted in a specific manner. A driver sued for negligence, for example, might raise the defense of excuse if the driver was rushing an injured person to a hospital, or if some unforeseen illness or mechanical failure made safe operation of the vehicle impossible.