reason, explanation n. forgive, absolve; justify v. reason, explanation n. forgive, absolve; justify v. Example Sentences Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com. See Examples For: “I take that responsibility seriously, but caution should never become an excuse for complacency.” From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026 These insights into Alice’s personality don’t excuse her short fuse, but they do mark her as worthy of redemption. From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026 “Which was really just a convenient excuse for buying it for myself,” Saenko admitted. From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026 Other clubs, with new managers as well as lots of new players, look much more organised so it is not an excuse . From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026 Before I could come up with a convincing excuse to avoid death by indigestion, a hand fell on my lower back. From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros More likely, many countries could be reticent to accept “volcano refugees,” making excuses – perhaps legitimate ones – that they don’t have the money, resources or space to safely settle so many people so swiftly. From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026 She said she pushed to make good things happen for her siblings and didn’t quit or make excuses when life was difficult. From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026 "It's not about looking for excuses," the Spaniard told Sky Sports. From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026 Let’s tackle the first, which is how to stop the barrage of bizarre excuses . From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026 I started making excuses for him in my head. From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez Walton-Cole was repeatedly told she could be excused from jury service, but pushed against that, saying: "As a jury, we're supposed to reflect society."

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026 Then she excused herself — someone else wanted to say what’s up. From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026 You’ll be excused for viewing that shameless promotion with cynicism as long as you also leave room to appreciate it as an indicator of how far the group has pulled popular culture. From Salon ● May 31, 2026 The informant excused himself to head upstairs to retrieve the money, a signal for Haitian police commandos to storm in. From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026 Dinner was over, and I was excused to go to my room for the night. From "Glitch" by Laura Martin Only after repeatedly excusing that phrase did he say that he would “discourage” it. From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026 “I can tell you, we’re throwing all of our available resources at it as we speak,” the chief said before excusing herself. From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025 I'm not excusing any of his behavior and I do think that if anyone is an unhealthy situation they have every right to leave and probably should leave. From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2024 Which is one way of excusing an ally for aiding an enemy. From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2024 Mary swiftly threw her bridle and stirrups over his back, excusing herself for being clumsy, and mounted at once. From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman Words related to excuse are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word excuse . Browse related words to learn more about word associations. Vocabulary lists containing excuse "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide! "The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use! "The House on Mango Street" and "The Road Not Taken" Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time! Just like flashcards, but way more fun Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.