as in justifications
an explanation that frees one from fault or blame
"a really important business call" is no excuse for not paying proper attention to one's driving
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in ignores
to dismiss as of little importance
more often than not, voters are willing to excuse a candidate's youthful indiscretion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in justifies
to be an acceptable reason for
having a female passenger in labor will generally excuse a little disregard for the speed limit
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in explains
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses
he's always excusing his chronic lying by claiming that everybody lies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of excuses
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026
Of nailing one’s excuses to their own crosses and leaving them there.
—Colin Fleming, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
In Missouri, no-excuses in-person early voting starts Tuesday, March 23.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
The excuses really don’t matter.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2026
The playoffs are no time for excuses.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Mar. 2026
Still, Orlando isn’t making any excuses for itself.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
The Constitution’s glitterati, present at the creation, were unanimous in fearing the executive branch would concoct excuses for pointless wars to aggrandize power and crush unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 23 Mar. 2026
Department leaders have provided endless excuses but no report.
—Editorial Board, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2026
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
No grievance, no workplace conflict, no personal resentment ever excuses violence.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 2 Apr. 2026
None of that excuses the crimes.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
Lost Lambs features an all-white cast in an anonymous American suburb, which excuses Cash from having to engage head-on with race.
—Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
In professional sports, excuses age quickly.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
The rep excuses herself; in the hallway, Stephen congratulates Lucy.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 17 Feb. 2026
So people tend to define antisemitism in a way that excuses their side, and that throws all of the blame on the other side.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
For true Second Amendment advocates, Pretti’s decision to bring a gun to a protest in no way excuses his killing.
—The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
Noun
Do not make excuses or lie about your health.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026
Of nailing one’s excuses to their own crosses and leaving them there.
—Colin Fleming, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
In Missouri, no-excuses in-person early voting starts Tuesday, March 23.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026
The excuses really don’t matter.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2026
The playoffs are no time for excuses.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 25 Mar. 2026
Still, Orlando isn’t making any excuses for itself.
—Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Mar. 2026
The Constitution’s glitterati, present at the creation, were unanimous in fearing the executive branch would concoct excuses for pointless wars to aggrandize power and crush unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
—Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 23 Mar. 2026
Department leaders have provided endless excuses but no report.
—Editorial Board, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2026
Verb
And while absolutely none of that excuses my actions, that's what happened.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
No grievance, no workplace conflict, no personal resentment ever excuses violence.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 2 Apr. 2026
None of that excuses the crimes.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 10 Mar. 2026
Lost Lambs features an all-white cast in an anonymous American suburb, which excuses Cash from having to engage head-on with race.
—Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
In professional sports, excuses age quickly.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
The rep excuses herself; in the hallway, Stephen congratulates Lucy.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 17 Feb. 2026
So people tend to define antisemitism in a way that excuses their side, and that throws all of the blame on the other side.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
For true Second Amendment advocates, Pretti’s decision to bring a gun to a protest in no way excuses his killing.
—The Atlantic, 26 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excuses
Noun
-
Gemini 3 Pro invented elaborate technical justifications for marking incorrect answers as correct, reasoning that doing so would bring the peer’s score above the shutdown threshold.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Medieval monks toiling away at poetic meditations on the divine have their place, the authors allow, but their own arguments are meant to surpass mere abstract justifications for belief.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Today’s anything-goes, zero-sum war for attention ignores the lessons learned in the Golden Age of advertising in the 1960s, when brands were sold with thoughtful, artistic, wise and playful takes on the human condition.—
Bruce Stockler,
Fortune,
5 Apr. 2026
-
His inept Cabinet ignores, and actually encourages, his very weird and embarrassing meandering.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
What is, in most cases, an individual choice made by adults does not, by itself, constitute a clinical problem that justifies federal correction.—
Cláudia Nunes,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The realist view is that NASA wants to fly a nuclear reactor as soon as possible, and the Mars launch window justifies the aggressive development schedule (and commensurate funding) to appropriators.—
David W. Brown,
Scientific American,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Which explains everything and nothing.—
Jeffrey Eugenides,
New Yorker,
4 Apr. 2026
-
One explains why inflation exists, while the other tells you what to do when your rent goes up.—
Gerald Bradshaw,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But those shootarounds can be canceled for any number of reasons, including if the game is the second in consecutive nights, or if the team is in the middle of a tough stretch of travel or practiced the day before.—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The spa There’s a solid spa here that’s always cooking up new reasons to visit.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
There is no blanket federal program that automatically forgives credit card debt simply because someone is a veteran.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Sinnott forgives his parents, and parents today who waver on vaccination.—
Arthur Allen,
Miami Herald,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Being the president and all, Richard pardons himself and Jenny.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Trump pardons 5 former NFL stars for wide-ranging crimes.—
,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Perched on a bluff that overlooks Irish Beach, a private area within Manchester State Park, the home boasts an unobstructed, 180-degree view of the rugged Mendocino coastline.—
Kelsey Mulvey,
Vogue,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Yet this overlooks how the politics of addiction actually functioned in the formative decades of the drug war.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excuses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excuses. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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