1. (

• excuse ,
• pardon ,

) accept an excuse for; "Please excuse my dirty hands" ;

2. (

• excuse ,
• relieve ,
• let_off ,
• exempt

) grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class" ;

3. (

• excuse ,
• explain ,

) 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 may explain her reluctance to date again" ;

4. (

• apologize ,
• apologise ,
• excuse ,
• rationalize ,
• rationalise

) defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" ;

5. (

• excuse ,
• beg_off

) ask for permission to be released from an engagement ;

6. (

• excuse ,
• condone

) excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities" ;

1. (

• excused

) granted exemption; "one of the excused jurors planned to write a book" ;