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WordNet-Online
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Noun excuse has 3 senses
- excuse, alibi, exculpation, self-justification - 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"
--1 is a kind of defense, defence, vindication
--1 has particulars: extenuation, mitigation
- excuse - a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"
--2 is a kind of note, short letter, line, billet
- apology, excuse - a poor example; "it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor excuse for an automobile"
--3 is a kind of example, illustration, instance, representative
Verb excuse has 6 senses
- excuse, pardon - accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands"
--1 is one way to forgive
Sample sentences:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
- excuse, relieve, let off, exempt - grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class"
--2 is one way to absolve, justify, free
Sample sentence:
Sam cannot excuse Sue
- excuse, explain - 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"
--3 is one way to justify, vindicate
Sample sentence:
Something ----s something
- apologize, apologise, excuse, justify, rationalize, rationalise - defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success"
--4 is one way to defend, support, fend for
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s something
- excuse, beg off - ask for permission to be released from an engagement
--5 is one way to request, bespeak, call for, quest
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s somebody
- excuse, condone - excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities"
--6 is one way to forgive
Sample sentence:
Somebody ----s something
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