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excuse
has definitions from the field of writing
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[ noun ] a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
Synonyms Examples "he kept finding excuses to stay" "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job" "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable" Used in print (William Maxwell, The Chateau....)`` Ex-cuse me '' , he said in Berlitz_English , and got_up and left them , to bathe and dress . (Robert L. Duncan, The Voice of Strangers....)His arm had been giving him some trouble and Rector was not enough of a medical expert to determine whether it had healed improperly or whether Hino was simply rebelling against the tedious work in the print_shop , using the stiffness in his arm as an excuse . Related terms |
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[ verb ] accept an excuse for
Synonyms Examples "Please excuse my dirty hands" Used in print (Bruce Palmer, "My Brother's Keeper", Many Are...)- ' Scuse me , sir . (Evan Esar, Humorous English; a guide to comic ,...)In one cartoon a family is shown outside a theater with the head of the family addressing the doorman : `` Excuse me , but when we came_out we found that we had left my daughter 's handbag and my wife 's behind '' . Related terms |
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[ verb ] serve as a reason or cause or justification of
Synonyms Examples "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work" "Her recent divorce amy explain her reluctance to date again" Used in print (The Christian Science Monitor,...)It excuses these actions as being the chain_reaction to basic errors made in the previous administration . (Allen R. Bosworth, The Crows of Edwina Hill....)It was as if foreign duty implied and excused license ; it intimated that the folks at_home would never know about it , and , therefore , why not ? Related terms |
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[ verb ] grant exemption or release to
Examples "Please excuse me from this class Used in print (The Providence Journal,...)Then , when the case went to the jury , the judge excused one of the jurors , saying the juror had told him he had been accosted by masked men at his motel the night before the trial opened . (Richard Tiernan, "Land of the Silver Dollar,"...)`` You know '' , he said , getting a grip on himself , `` I think you 're going_to have to excuse me . |
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[ verb ] defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
Synonyms Examples "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior" "he rationalized his lack of success" Used in print (Tristram P. Coffin, "Folklore in the American Twentieth...)1 ) Every age rewrites the events of its history in_terms_of what should have been , creating legends about itself that rationalize contemporary beliefs and excuse contemporary actions . Related terms defend plead extenuate color justification apology rationalization apologist apology justification |
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[ noun ] (writing) a note explaining an absence
Examples "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him" Related terms |
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[ verb ] excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
Synonyms Examples "excuse someone's behavior" "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities" Related terms |
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