Excuse

Pronunciation: /ɪksˈkjuːs/

Excuse (noun)

  1. a reason given to explain a mistake or bad behavior
  2. permission to leave a place or stop doing something

Examples

  • He always has an excuse for being late.
  • She gave an excuse for missing the meeting.

Common collocations: poor excuse, valid excuse, make an excuse, seek an excuse, grant an excuse

Excuse (verb)

  1. to forgive someone for a mistake or bad behavior
  2. to give a reason for a mistake or bad behavior

Examples

  • Please excuse my mistake.
  • She excused him for the error.

Synonyms of Excuse

Formal

Neutral

Informal

Antonyms of Excuse

  • — assigning responsibility for a fault
  • — charging someone with a fault