Analysis Complete

excuse

/ excuse /
noun/verb

Definitions & Examples

noun Sense 1
a note explaining an absence
"he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
Type of:
note short letter line
Derived:
beg off relieve let off exempt
noun Sense 2
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
"he kept finding excuses to stay"
"every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"
"his transparent self-justification was unacceptable"
Type of:
defense defence vindication
Kinds of:
extenuation mitigation
Derived:
alibi condone apologize apologise justify
verb Sense 3
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
"excuse someone''s behavior"
"She condoned her husband''s occasional infidelities"
Type of:
forgive
Derived:
condonation alibi exculpation self-justification pardoner
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
verb Sense 4
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 amy explain her reluctance to date again"
Type of:
justify vindicate
Kinds of:
alibi
Derived:
explanation alibi exculpation self-justification
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody PP
verb Sense 5
grant exemption or release to
"Please excuse me from this class"
Type of:
absolve justify free
Kinds of:
frank
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s whether INFINITIVE
verb Sense 6
ask for permission to be released from an engagement
Type of:
request bespeak call for
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s something with something
verb Sense 7
accept an excuse for
"Please excuse my dirty hands"
Type of:
forgive
Derived:
forgiveness pardon alibi exculpation self-justification
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Somebody ----s something with something
Somebody ----s on something
Somebody ----s somebody PP
noun Sense 8
a poor example
"it was an apology for a meal"
"a poor excuse for an automobile"
Type of:
example illustration instance
verb Sense 9
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
"rationalize the child''s seemingly crazy behavior"
"he rationalized his lack of success"
Type of:
defend support fend for
Kinds of:
color colour gloss plead extenuate
Derived:
rationalization rationalisation justification apologist vindicator
Usage Patterns:
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something
Semantic Complexity
83%
Sense Count
9
Total Synonyms
0
Total Relationships
59
Times Searched
3
Relationship Distribution

Word Relationship Graph

Synonyms Antonyms Hypernyms Hyponyms

Related Words

note short letter line defense defence vindication extenuation mitigation forgive justify vindicate alibi