excuse 1 of 2

noun

ik-ˈskyüs How to pronounce excuse (audio)
Definition of excusenext
as in justification
an explanation that frees one from fault or blame "a really important business call" is no excuse for not paying proper attention to one's driving

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

excuse

2 of 2

verb

ik-ˈskyüz How to pronounce excuse (audio)
1
as in to ignore
to dismiss as of little importance more often than not, voters are willing to excuse a candidate's youthful indiscretion

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to justify
to be an acceptable reason for having a female passenger in labor will generally excuse a little disregard for the speed limit

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to explain
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses he's always excusing his chronic lying by claiming that everybody lies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun excuse contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of excuse are alibi, apologia, apology, plea, and pretext. While all these words mean "matter offered in explanation or defense," excuse implies an intent to avoid or remove blame or censure.

used illness as an excuse for missing the meeting

When could alibi be used to replace excuse?

The meanings of alibi and excuse largely overlap; however, alibi implies a desire to shift blame or evade punishment and imputes mere plausibility to the explanation.

his alibi failed to stand scrutiny

When might apologia be a better fit than excuse?

While the synonyms apologia and excuse are close in meaning, apologia implies not admission of guilt or regret but a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.

his speech was an apologia for his foreign policy

When can apology be used instead of excuse?

Although the words apology and excuse have much in common, apology usually applies to an expression of regret for a mistake or wrong with implied admission of guilt or fault and with or without reference to mitigating or extenuating circumstances.

said by way of apology that he would have met them if he could

When would plea be a good substitute for excuse?

While in some cases nearly identical to excuse, plea stresses argument or appeal for understanding or sympathy or mercy.

her usual plea that she was nearsighted

Where would pretext be a reasonable alternative to excuse?

The words pretext and excuse are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, pretext suggests subterfuge and the offering of false reasons or motives in excuse or explanation.

used any pretext to get out of work

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of excuse
Noun
Use this as excuse to get your kitchen primed for summer cooking season. —Alaina Chou, Bon Appetit Magazine, 10 June 2025 Give yourself down time (mandatory 15-30 minutes, no excuses). —Sunny Hubler, Charlotte Observer, 9 June 2025
Verb
And when hate speech is excused or explained away, Jewish lives are put in mortal danger. —Laurence Milstein, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2025 This understanding doesn’t mean excusing or justifying behaviors like infidelity. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for excuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excuse
  1. justification
  2. ignore
  3. justify
  4. explain
  5. reason
  6. forgive
  7. overlook
  8. pardon
Noun
  • The rulings against the levies in two federal courts – the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. -- centered on Trump's unprecedented invocation of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act as a legal justification for tariffs.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 30 May 2025
  • End of story — there is no justification, nothing that makes this right.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 May 2025
Definition of justification
Verb
  • What can also be said with certainty, however, is that — even ignoring, for one moment, the events that brought him to Chelmsford crown court in Essex, east of London — this is a story of what might have been.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 6 June 2025
  • Public health is too important to rely on speculation and too important to ignore when the data speaks for itself.
    — Olga Bolden-Tiller, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2025
Definition of ignore
Verb
  • But as cloud spend goes up, the need to justify cost efforts and demonstrate cost avoidance to execs will increase.
    — Adrian Bridgwater, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • His breezy accounts betray no anxiety to justify the expense of sending him around the world.
    — Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
Definition of justify
Verb
  • And as one dad recently shared on Reddit, the days of explaining things with talk of storks or other mythical tales are likely over.
    — Christian Dashiell, Parents, 7 June 2025
  • On Thursday's episode of the In the Mind of Jax Taylor podcast, Taylor explained to his sister Jenny that certain posts on social media can be triggering.
    — Dayna Haffenden, People.com, 7 June 2025
Definition of explain
Noun
  • Musk vehemently opposes the bill for this reason − after all, wasn't the whole point of DOGE to cut waste and reduce spending?
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 7 June 2025
  • And both have, for different reasons, chosen to confront the very institutions and leaders that have helped sustain their growth.
    — Joel Shulman, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Definition of reason
Verb
  • Employees trust them more, and citizens are more likely to forgive their mistakes.
    — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
  • The Biden administration's efforts to forgive large swaths of student debt, including plans to help reduce monthly payments for struggling borrowers, were largely stymied in court.
    — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 7 June 2025
Definition of forgive
Verb
  • Ultimately, this creates blind spots that limit innovation and overlook entire categories of opportunity.
    — Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • In addition to the eight hundred thousand dead, another casualty of the Civil War that’s often overlooked was civil liberties.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Definition of overlook
Verb
  • Biden pardoned his brother, James Biden, and other relatives for unspecified crimes during his final days in office.
    — Bart Jansen, USA Today, 6 June 2025
  • Trump pardoned the insurrectionists early in his second term in January.
    — Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2025
Definition of pardon

Browse Nearby Words

excusably
excuse
excused
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Excuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excuse. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on excuse

Nglish: Translation of excuse for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

10 Hella Good U.S. Regionalisms

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 3

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

8 Words for the Wordy and Talking Too Much

How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All