excuse

excuse, condone, pardon, forgive mean to exact neither punishment nor redress. excuse may refer to specific acts especially in social or conventional situations or the person responsible for these.

• • excuse an interruption
• • excused them for interrupting

Often the term implies extenuating circumstances.

• • injustice excuses strong responses

condone implies that one overlooks without censure behavior (such as dishonesty or violence) that involves a serious breach of a moral, ethical, or legal code, and the term may refer to the behavior or to the agent responsible for it.

• • a society that condones alcohol but not narcotics

pardon implies that one remits a penalty due for an admitted or established offense.

• • pardon a criminal

forgive implies that one gives up all claim to requital and to resentment or vengeful feelings.

• • could not forgive their rudeness

apology, apologia, excuse, plea, pretext, alibi mean matter offered in explanation or defense. apology usually applies to an expression of regret for a mistake or wrong with implied admission of guilt or fault and with or without reference to mitigating or extenuating circumstances.

• • said by way of apology that he would have met them if he could

apologia implies not admission of guilt or regret but a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.

• • his speech was an apologia for his foreign policy

excuse implies an intent to avoid or remove blame or censure.

• • used illness as an excuse for missing the meeting

plea stresses argument or appeal for understanding or sympathy or mercy.

• • her usual plea that she was nearsighted

pretext suggests subterfuge and the offering of false reasons or motives in excuse or explanation.

• • used any pretext to get out of work

alibi implies a desire to shift blame or evade punishment and imputes mere plausibility to the explanation.

• • his alibi failed to stand scrutiny