excuse
/ɪksˈkjuz/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.56 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.
noun
An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I excused him his transgressions."
- "Yet his Nature / In that’s no Changeling, and I muſt excuſe / What cannot be amended."
- "If they say that he did sin in doing this, then they must at the same time acknowledge that a man's persuasion that a thing is a duty will not excuse him from guilt in practising it"
- "May I be excused from the table?"
- "I excused myself from the proceedings to think over what I'd heard."
- "You know he shouldn't have done it, so don't try to excuse his behavior!"
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs Proto-Italic *eks Latin ex Latin ex- Proto-Italic *kaussā Old Latin caussa Latin causa Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin excūsāreder. Old French escuserder. Middle English excusen ▲ Latin excūsāreder. Old French excuseder. Middle English excuse English excuse From Middle English excusen (verb) and excuse (noun), borrowed from Old French escuser (verb) and excuse (noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre (“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex (“out”) + causa (“a charge”); see cause, accuse and recuse. Displaced native Old English lād (“an excuse”) and lādian (“to excuse”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: excusen, escuser, excuso
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪksˈkjuz/
- British English: /ɪkˈskjuːz/