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excuses - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | excuse |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reason, explanation |
| Synonyms: | alibi, apology, cover*, defense, disguise, evasion, expedient, extenuation, fish story*, grounds, justification, makeshift, mitigation, plea, pretext, routine, semblance, shift, song*, song and dance*, stall, stopgap*, story, substitute, subterfuge, trick*, vindication, whitewash*, cleanup, cop-out, cover story, coverup, jive*, rationalization, regrets, why and wherefore |
| Notes: | an alias is an assumed name, an alibi is a form of defense whereby a defendant attempts to prove that he or she was elsewhere when the crime in question was committed, while an excuse is an explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness a pardon is the act of excusing a mistake or offense; an excuse is an explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | excuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | forgive, absolve; justify |
| Synonyms: | acquit, alibi, appease, bear with, clear, condone, cover, defend, discharge, exculpate, exempt, exonerate, explain, extenuate, forgive, free, indulge, let off*, liberate, mitigate, overlook, pardon, pass over*, pretext, purge, rationalize, release, relieve, remit, reprieve, shrive, shrug off, spare, tolerate, vindicate, whitewash*, apologize for, dispense from, exempt from, give absolution, grant amnesty, let go, make allowances for, plead ignorance, take rap for, wink at* |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | absolve |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | free from responsibility, duty |
| Synonyms: | acquit, bleach, clear, discharge, exculpate, excuse, exempt, exonerate, forgive, free, launder*, let off*, liberate, loose, pardon, release, relieve, sanitize*, spare, spring*, vindicate, whitewash, write off*, blink at, go easy on, let off easy, let off the hook, let up on, lifeboat, set free, wink at*, wipe it off, wipe the slate clean |
| Antonyms: | bind, blame, charge, condemn, convict, hold, impeach, incriminate, obligate, punish, sentence |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | acquit |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | announce removal of blame |
| Synonyms: | absolve, clear, deliver, discharge, exculpate, excuse, exonerate, free, let off, liberate, release, relieve, vindicate, whitewash*, blink at, disculpate, let go, let off the hook, wink at*, wipe off |
| Antonyms: | blame, censure, condemn, convict, damn, denounce, doom, sentence |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | alibi |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | defense against charges of wrongdoing; evidence of absence |
| Synonyms: | account, affirmation, allegation, answer, assertion, assurance, avowal, case, cover, declaration, excuse, explanation, fish story*, justification, plea, pretext, profession, proof, reason, reply, retort, song and dance*, stall, statement, vindication, airtight case, cop-out |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | apology |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | offering of remorse, regret |
| Synonyms: | acknowledgment, admission, amends, atonement, concession, confession, defense, excuse, explanation, extenuation, justification, mea culpa, mitigation, plea, redress, reparation, vindication |
| Antonyms: | accusation, censure, charge, complaint, condemnation, criticism, defiance, indictment |
| Main Entry: | call |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | need, cause for action |
| Synonyms: | claim, excuse, grounds, justification, necessity, obligation, occasion, reason, right, urge |
| Main Entry: | color |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | deceptive appearance |
| Synonyms: | deception, disguise, excuse, facade, face, front, guise, mask, plea, pretense, pretext, semblance, show, false show, put-on |
| Main Entry: | condone |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make allowance for |
| Synonyms: | buy*, disregard, excuse, forget, forgive, ignore, okay, overlook, pardon, pass over, remit, give green light, go along with, lap up, let it come, let it go by, let pass, look the other way, nod at, wink at* |
| Antonyms: | censure, condemn, forbid, prevent, not allow |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | cop out |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | abandon, quit |
| Synonyms: | back down, back off, back out, desert, dodge, excuse, rationalize, renege, renounce, revoke, skip, welsh, withdraw, backpedal, give the slip, have alibi, use pretext |
| Antonyms: | face, ready, take on, be ready |
| Main Entry: | defense |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | explanation, justification |
| Synonyms: | answer, apology, argument, excuse, exoneration, extenuation, fish story*, plea, rejoinder, reply, response, retort, return, song and dance*, story, vindication, whitewash*, apologetics, apologia, apologizing, cleanup, copout, exculpation, excusing, explaining, jive, off-time, rationalization |
| Antonyms: | betrayal, capitulation, yielding |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | discharge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | dismiss from responsibility |
| Synonyms: | absolve, ax, bounce, bump, bust, can*, cashier, discard, disencumber, dispense, displace, eject, excuse, exempt, expel, fire, kick out, lay off, let off, nix*, oust, relieve, remove, replace, spare, supersede, supplant, terminate, unload, boot out, disburden, freeze out, give one notice, let go, let one go, let out, lock out, privilege from, ride out on rail, run out of town, show the door |
| Antonyms: | assign, delegate, employ, engage, hire |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | dispense |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | exempt from responsibility |
| Synonyms: | absolve, discharge, except, excuse, exonerate, let off, release, relieve, reprieve, spare, privilege from |
| Main Entry: | evasion |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | escape, avoidance |
| Synonyms: | artifice, cunning, ditch*, dodge*, equivocation, evasiveness, excuse, lie, pretext, prevarication, quibble, routine, run-around, ruse, shift, slip*, sophism, sophistry, stall, stonewall*, subterfuge, trick, trickery, circumvention, cop-out, dodging, elusion, equivocating, eschewal, evading, fancy footwork, fudging, fugiviteness, fugivity, jive, obliqueness, shirking, shuffling, shunning |
| Antonyms: | facing, meeting, directness |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | example |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | instance, model |
| Synonyms: | archetype, case, case history, case in point, citation, copy, excuse, exemplar, ideal, illustration, lesson, object, original, paradigm, paragon, part, pattern, precedent, prototype, quotation, representation, sample, specimen, standard, stereotype, symbol, exemplification, for instance, kind of thing, sampling |
| Main Entry: | exculpate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | forgive |
| Synonyms: | absolve, acquit, amnesty, clear, condone, discharge, dismiss, excuse, exonerate, explain, free, justify, let off*, pardon, rationalize, release, remit, vindicate, disculpate, wipe slate clean |
| Antonyms: | blame, condemn, sentence |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | exempt |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | relieve, absolve |
| Synonyms: | clear, discharge, dispense, except, excuse, exonerate, free, let off*, liberate, pass by, release, spare, write off, go easy on, grant immunity, let off the hook, privilege from, wipe the slate |
| Antonyms: | blame |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | expiate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make amends for |
| Synonyms: | absolve, amend, appease, atone, atone for, compensate, correct, do penance, excuse, forgive, pay one's dues, rectify, redeem, redress, remedy, square things |
| Main Entry: | explain |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make clear; give a reason for |
| Synonyms: | account for, analyze, annotate, bring out, clarify, clear up, construe, decipher, define, demonstrate, describe, diagram, disclose, elucidate, excuse, explicate, expound, get across*, illustrate, interpret, justify, manifest, paraphrase, point out, rationalize, read, refine, render, resolve, reveal, solve, spell out*, teach, tell, translate, unfold, unravel, untangle, break down, go into detail, make plain, put across, put in plain English, set right, throw light upon |
| Antonyms: | complicate, confuse, mystify, obscure, perplex, be vague |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | explanation |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | clarification; reason |
| Synonyms: | account, annotation, answer, breakdown, brief, cause, comment, commentary, confession, definition, demonstration, description, details, display, elucidation, evidence, example, excuse, exposition, expression, gloss, history, illustration, information, interpretation, justification, meaning, mitigation, motive, narration, note, recital, rendition, report, resolution, sense, showing, significance, specification, statement, story, summary, tale, talking, telling, vindication, writing, explication |
| Antonyms: | complication |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
