excuse
859
1.7
- noun
- /ɪkˈskjus/
:
excusa
- I just gave you an excuse.
- make excuses
- give an excuse
- offer an excuse
It gives you the excuse to slip up.
- It gives you the excuse to slip up.
- You have all kinds of excuses to just skip out on things.
- Trauma bonded people make excuses for their abuser.
- It gives me an easier excuse to, to not eat it.
- Go check it out for an excuse to be on the boat.
- You're just like, OK, I have like an excuse to cheat on this person.
Examples
-
I think you were looking for an excuse to push me out the door.
Fiction book (1991) -
Let it be an excuse for being late to class.
-
So I wish I had a reason or an excuse or treatment.
-
That incident gave you the excuse to suddenly do that.
-
So the rest of you have no excuse at all.
-
You had the best excuse for losing.
-
And I kept making all these excuses as to why it was OK.
-
Don't make a lack of money an excuse not to serve your public.
Academic text (2012) -
I have no excuse.
-
He wrote an excuse for being late to the meeting.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A cause or explanation for something that happened
∞
1.0
A statement that makes something clear or helps someone understand
156
4.0
A reason or explanation that shows an action is acceptable
79
6.0
A set of reasons that explains a decision or action
3
9.9
A formal written explanation that defends someone's actions or beliefs after criticism
A reason given to explain or defend a mistake
Antonyms
394
3.1
A statement that someone did something wrong or illegal, even if it is not proven
Idioms
Compounds
- Offensive
A very large number of weak reasons someone gives to avoid doing something
How Convincing
Surface Forms
Etymology
Excuse comes from the old Latin excusare, with causa meaning 'cause' or reason (the same root as cause). That is why an excuse is a reason or written note given to explain or defend an absence or mistake.