excuse²

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɪksˈkjuz/ UK /ɪkˈskjuːz/ See IPA manual

verb

Audio for this pronunciation isn’t available yet.

Homographs: excuse¹ /ɪksˈkjus/ — noun

Pronunciation and word origins: Wiktionary contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Freq #343

Meanings

1

verb
To forgive someone for a small mistake.

Please excuse my poor handwriting.
2

verb
To allow someone to leave or to be free from a duty.

May I be excused from class early today?
3

verb
To be a good enough reason for something; to justify.

Being tired does not excuse such rude behaviour.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to forgive someone for a... pardon forgive

2 verb · to allow someone to leave... exemptlet off the hook

3 verb · to be a good enough reason... justify

Etymology

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

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