Synonyms of excusing

excusing

verb

present participle of excuse

1

as in ignoring

to dismiss as of little importance

more often than not, voters are willing to excuse a candidate's youthful indiscretion

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ignoring
• forgiving
• justifying
• overlooking
• explaining
• pardoning
• condoning
• disregarding
• discounting
• whitewashing
• remitting
• brushing (aside or off)
• passing over
• blinking (at)
• winking (at)
• rationalizing
• glossing (over)
• overpassing
• papering over
• shrugging off
• forgiving and forgetting
• absolving
• exonerating
• exculpating
• glozing (over)
• vindicating
• closing one's eyes to
• acquitting
• waiving
• waving (aside or off)
• clearing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• noting
• marking
• objecting (to)
• heeding
• minding

2

as in justifying

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

• justifying
• explaining
• rationalizing
• ignoring
• condoning
• accounting (for)
• forgiving
• brushing (aside or off)
• alibiing
• disregarding
• explaining away
• winking (at)
• pardoning
• passing over
• remitting
• glossing (over)
• shrugging off
• glozing (over)

3

as in explaining

to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses

he's always excusing his chronic lying by claiming that everybody lies

Synonyms & Similar Words

• justifying
• explaining
• extenuating
• palliating
• whitewashing
• glossing (over)
• explaining away
• apologizing
• deodorizing
• confessing
• minimizing
• rationalizing
• glozing (over)
• atoning
• mitigating
• accounting (for)
• varnishing
• alleviating
• absolving
• sugarcoating
• exonerating
• exculpating
• softening
• moderating
• lessening
• vindicating
• tempering
• acquitting
• easing
• playing down
• lightening
• soft-pedaling
• clearing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of excusing

Party leaders have to stop excusing the inexcusable and police our side of the aisle—or voters will continue to police it for us. — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2026

But the series’ choice to humanize the villain without excusing her actions was intentional, Thornton explains. — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026

Advertisement Dialogue does not mean abandoning our values, excusing aggression, or accepting injustice. — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

This story does not suggest that reconciliation requires forgetting the past or excusing harmful choices. — Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026

Unable to picture evil as anything other than devilish, critics accused Arendt of excusing the perpetrators and blaming the victims. — Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026

Not that Miss Manners is excusing those who burst into dinner parties after the roast has been ruined — along with the other guests’ attitudes, most likely — and then blame it on traffic. — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 28 July 2026

The royal mom also asked to see a poem that Ejran wrote, before excusing herself to continue her tour. — Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026

The center also alleges that the APA has put up roadblocks to allowing an official Jewish affinity group to form, while excusing inflammatory language about Zionism from an Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern and North African affinity group. — Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026