Scrabble Dictionary

Yes

Meaning of excuse

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1 definition found

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

  excuse
      n 1: 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" [syn:
           {excuse}, {alibi}, {exculpation}, {self-justification}]
      2: a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to
         write an excuse for him"
      3: a poor example; "it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor
         excuse for an automobile" [syn: {apology}, {excuse}]
      v 1: accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands" [syn:
           {excuse}, {pardon}]
      2: grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this
         class" [syn: {excuse}, {relieve}, {let off}, {exempt}]
      3: 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"
         [syn: {excuse}, {explain}]
      4: defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by
         reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy
         behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" [syn:
         {apologize}, {apologise}, {excuse}, {justify}, {rationalize},
         {rationalise}]
      5: ask for permission to be released from an engagement [syn:
         {excuse}, {beg off}]
      6: excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with;
         "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's
         occasional infidelities" [syn: {excuse}, {condone}]

WordNet ® Princeton University. http://wordnet.princeton.edu