excuse
pronunciation
How to pronounce excuse in British English:
UK [ɪkˈskjuːs , ɪkˈskjuːz]
How to pronounce excuse in American English:
US [ɪkˈskjuːs , ɪkˈskjuːz]
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- Noun:
- a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
- a note explaining an absence
- a poor example
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- Verb:
- accept an excuse for
- grant exemption or release to
- serve as a reason or cause or justification of
- defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
- ask for permission to be released from an engagement
- excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
Word Origin
- excuse
- excuse: [13] Etymologically, excuse means ‘free of accusation’. It comes via Old French from Latin excūsāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix ex-, denoting removal, and causa ‘cause’ – but ‘cause’ in the sense not of something that produces a result, but of ‘legal action, accusation’ (a meaning preserved in English ‘cause list’, for example) Originally, the s of both the noun and the verb was pronounced /z/; the /s/ of the modern English noun arose by analogy with such nouns as use and abuse.=> accuse, cause
- excuse (v.)
- mid-13c., "attempt to clear (someone) from blame, find excuses for," from Old French escuser (12c., Modern French excuser) "apologize, make excuses; pardon, exonerate," from Latin excusare "excuse, apologize, make an excuse for, plead as an excuse; release from a charge; decline, refuse, excuse the refusal of" (source also of Spanish excusar, Italian scusare), from ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + causa "accusation, legal action" (see cause (n.)). Sense of "forgive, pardon, accept another's plea of excuse" is from early 14c. Meaning "to obtain exemption or release from an obligation or duty; beg to be excused" is from mid-14c. in English, as is the sense "defend (someone or something) as right." Sense of "serve as justification for" is from 1530s. Related: Excused; excusing. Excuse me as a mild apology or statement of polite disagreement is from c. 1600.
- excuse (n.)
- late 14c., "pretext, justification," from Old French excuse, from excuser (see excuse (v.)). The sense of "that which serves as a reason for being excused" is recorded from mid-15c. As a noun, excusation is the earlier form (mid-14c.).
Example
- 1. Don 't reply with a lengthy excuse .
- 2. The stirring of inflation provides the perfect excuse .
- 3. There is no excuse for surprising your political constituencies .
- 4. Yet this does not excuse american governance for making matters worse .
- 5. Or are you forced to rifle through your words and excuse yourself for not lying overtly ?