excusatory

9.0

Showing you are sorry and giving a reason for a mistake

adjective
/ɪkˈskjuːsəˌtɔri/

: excusatorio

She wrote an excusatory letter explaining her tardiness to the meeting.

Examples

His excusatory tone made it clear he hadn't meant any offense.
Don't be so excusatory!
After the mishap, the engineer replied in an excusatory manner, hoping to avoid blame.
His tone was excusatory when he explained his absence.
Her excusatory remarks made it clear that she felt guilty about the mistake.
He delivered an excusatory statement to apologize for his delays.
The report included excusatory comments to explain the team's shortcomings.

Synonyms

apologetic

vsexcusatory

28 3.7

Feeling sorry for something you did

expresses excuse or apology without emphasizing deep regret

apologetical

vsexcusatory

8.5

To give an explanation to defend actions and avoid blame

focuses on apology or excuse rather than defending actions

Antonyms

accusatory

10 6.3

Showing blame or suggesting someone did something wrong

How Apologetic

remorseful

18 4.6

apologetic

28 3.7

excusatory

9.0

regretful

9 2.9

Surface Forms

excusatory positive

Morphology

excusatory = excuse (transparent) = excuse + atory

The adjective is a direct derivation from the verb 'excuse' with the adjectival suffix '-atory' indicating 'serving to' or 'pertaining to' an excuse, so the meaning is inferable by learners.

Etymology

The word excusatory comes from the same root as excuse, made of the parts ex- ('out') and causa ('cause'). So, to excuse is to 'remove a cause' of blame, and excusatory describes words or actions that give an excuse or apology.