What is "excuse"

Excuse \Ex*cuse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Excused; p. pr. & vb. n. Excusing.] [OE. escusen, cusen, OF. escuser, excuser, F. excuser, fr. L. excusare; ex out + causa cause, causari to plead. See Cause.]

1. To free from accusation, or the imputation of fault or blame; to clear from guilt; to release from a charge; to justify by extenuating a fault; to exculpate; to absolve; to acquit.

   A man's persuasion that a thing is duty, will not excuse him from guilt in practicing it, if really and indeed it be against Gog's law.
   --Abp. Sharp.

2. To pardon, as a fault; to forgive entirely, or to admit to be little censurable, and to overlook; as, we excuse irregular conduct, when extraordinary circumstances appear to justify it.

   I must excuse what can not be amended.
   --Shak.

3. To regard with indulgence; to view leniently or to overlook; to pardon.

   And in our own (excuse some courtly stains.) No whiter page than Addison remains.
   --Pope.

4. To free from an impending obligation or duty; hence, to disengage; to dispense with; to release by favor; also, to remit by favor; not to exact; as, to excuse a forfeiture.

   I pray thee have me excused.
   --xiv. 19.

5. To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.

   Think ye that we excuse ourselves to you?
   --2 Cor. xii. 19.

   Syn: To vindicate; exculpate; absolve; acquit.

   Usage: - To Pardon, Excuse, Forgive. A superior pardons as an act of mercy or generosity; either a superior or an equal excuses. A crime, great fault, or a grave offence, as one against law or morals, may be pardoned; a small fault, such as a failure in social or conventional obligations, slight omissions or neglects may be excused. Forgive relates to offenses against one's self, and punishment foregone; as, to forgive injuries or one who has injured us; to pardon grave offenses, crimes, and criminals; to excuse an act of forgetfulness, an unintentional offense. Pardon is also a word of courtesy employed in the sense of excuse.

Excuse \Ex*cuse"\, n. [Cf. F. excuse. See Excuse, v. t.]

1. The act of excusing, apologizing, exculpating, pardoning, releasing, and the like; acquittal; release; absolution; justification; extenuation.

   Pleading so wisely in excuse of it.
   --Shak.

2. That which is offered as a reason for being excused; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or irregular deportment; apology; as, an excuse for neglect of duty; excuses for delay of payment.

   Hence with denial vain and coy excuse.
   --Milton.

3. That which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault. ``It hath the excuse of youth.''
   --Shak.

   If eyes were made for seeing. Then beauty is its own excuse for being.
   --Emerson.

   Syn: See Apology.

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.)).\n

\nSense 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.

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.).

n. 1 An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment. 2 (context legal English) A defense to a criminal or civil charge wherein the accused party admits to doing acts for which legal consequences would normally be appropriate, but asserts that special circumstances relieve that party of culpability for having done those acts. 3 {{context|with negative adjective prepositioned, especially (term sorry English) or (term poor English)|lang=en}} An example.(attention en needs better definition) vb. 1 (context transitive English) To forgive; to pardon. 2 (context transitive English) To allow to leave. 3 (context transitive English) To provide an excuse for; to explain, with the aim of alleviating guilt or negative judgement. 4 To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.

1. n. a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable" [syn: alibi, exculpation, self-justification]

2. a note explaining an absence; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him"

3. a poor example; "it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor excuse for an automobile" [syn: apology]

1. v. accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands" [syn: pardon]

2. grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class" [syn: relieve, let off, exempt]

3. serve as a reason or cause or justification of; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce amy explain her reluctance to date again" [syn: explain]

4. defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" [syn: apologize, apologise, justify, rationalize, rationalise]

5. ask for permission to be released from an engagement [syn: beg off]

6. excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities" [syn: condone]

Excuse or Excuses may refer to:

• Excuse (legal)
• Rationalization (making excuses)

In jurisprudence, an excuse or justification is a defense to criminal charges that is distinct from an exculpation. Exculpation is a related concept which reduces or extinguishes a person's culpability and therefore a person's liability to pay compensation to the victim of a tort in the civil law.

The "excuse" provides a mitigating factor for a group of persons sharing a common characteristic. Justification, as in justifiable homicide, vindicates or shows the justice. Thus, society approves of the purpose or motives underpinning some actions or the consequences flowing from them (see Robinson), and distinguishes those where the behavior cannot be approved but some excuse may be found in the characteristics of the defendant, e.g. that the accused was a serving police officer or suffering from a mental illness. Thus, a justification describes the quality of the act, whereas an excuse relates to the status or capacity (or lack of it) in the accused. These factors can affect the resulting judgment which may be an acquittal, or in the case of a conviction may mitigate sentencing. Something that a person or persons use to explain any criticism or comments based on the outcome of any specific event.