| excuse | | |
| n. (communication) | 1. alibi, exculpation, excuse, self-justification | a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc..; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable" |
| ~ vindication, defense, defence | the justification for some act or belief.; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory" |
| ~ extenuation, mitigation | a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances. |
| n. (communication) | 2. excuse | a note explaining an absence.; "he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him" |
| ~ billet, short letter, note, line | a short personal letter.; "drop me a line when you get there" |
| n. (cognition) | 3. apology, excuse | a poor example.; "it was an apology for a meal"; "a poor excuse for an automobile" |
| ~ example, instance, illustration, representative | an item of information that is typical of a class or group.; "this patient provides a typical example of the syndrome"; "there is an example on page 10" |
| v. (communication) | 4. excuse, pardon | accept an excuse for.; "Please excuse my dirty hands" |
| ~ forgive | stop blaming or grant forgiveness.; "I forgave him his infidelity"; "She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday" |
| v. (communication) | 5. excuse, exempt, let off, relieve | grant exemption or release to.; "Please excuse me from this class" |
| ~ frank | exempt by means of an official pass or letter, as from customs or other checks. |
| ~ absolve, justify, free | let off the hook.; "I absolve you from this responsibility" |
| v. (communication) | 6. excuse, explain | serve as a reason or cause or justification of.; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again" |
| ~ alibi | exonerate by means of an alibi. |
| ~ vindicate, justify | show to be right by providing justification or proof.; "vindicate a claim" |
| v. (communication) | 7. apologise, apologize, excuse, justify, rationalise, rationalize | defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning.; "rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior"; "he rationalized his lack of success" |
| ~ colour, gloss, color | give a deceptive explanation or excuse for.; "color a lie" |
| ~ plead | offer as an excuse or plea.; "She was pleading insanity" |
| ~ defend, fend for, support | argue or speak in defense of.; "She supported the motion to strike" |
| ~ extenuate, mitigate, palliate | lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of.; "The circumstances extenuate the crime" |
| v. (communication) | 8. beg off, excuse | ask for permission to be released from an engagement. |
| ~ call for, request, bespeak, quest | express the need or desire for; ask for.; "She requested an extra bed in her room"; "She called for room service" |
| v. (communication) | 9. condone, excuse | excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with.; "excuse someone's behavior"; "She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities" |
| ~ forgive | stop blaming or grant forgiveness.; "I forgave him his infidelity"; "She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday" |
| alibi | | |
| n. (communication) | 1. alibi | (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question. |
| ~ vindication, defense, defence | the justification for some act or belief.; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory" |
| ~ law, jurisprudence | the collection of rules imposed by authority.; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" |
| v. (communication) | 2. alibi | exonerate by means of an alibi. |
| ~ excuse, explain | serve as a reason or cause or justification of.; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again" |
| refuse | | |
| n. (substance) | 1. food waste, garbage, refuse, scraps | food that is discarded (as from a kitchen). |
| ~ waste, waste material, waste matter, waste product | any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted.; "they collect the waste once a week"; "much of the waste material is carried off in the sewers" |
| v. (communication) | 2. decline, refuse | show unwillingness towards.; "he declined to join the group on a hike" |
| ~ react, respond | show a response or a reaction to something. |
| ~ freeze off, spurn, disdain, pooh-pooh, scorn, turn down, reject | reject with contempt.; "She spurned his advances" |
| ~ contract out | refuse to pay a levy to a union for political use. |
| ~ regret | decline formally or politely.; "I regret I can't come to the party" |
| ~ repudiate | refuse to recognize or pay.; "repudiate a debt" |
| ~ disobey | refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient.; "He disobeyed his supervisor and was fired" |
| v. (possession) | 3. decline, pass up, refuse, reject, turn down | refuse to accept.; "He refused my offer of hospitality" |
| ~ freeze off, spurn, disdain, pooh-pooh, scorn, turn down, reject | reject with contempt.; "She spurned his advances" |
| ~ dishonor, dishonour | refuse to accept.; "dishonor checks and drafts" |
| ~ bounce | refuse to accept and send back.; "bounce a check" |
| v. (stative) | 4. defy, refuse, resist | elude, especially in a baffling way.; "This behavior defies explanation" |
| ~ beggar | be beyond the resources of.; "This beggars description!" |
| ~ elude, escape | be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by.; "What you are seeing in him eludes me" |
| v. (possession) | 5. deny, refuse | refuse to let have.; "She denies me every pleasure"; "he denies her her weekly allowance" |
| ~ keep, hold on | retain possession of.; "Can I keep my old stuffed animals?"; "She kept her maiden name after she married" |
| ~ abnegate, deny | deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure.; "She denied herself wine and spirits" |
| ~ withhold, keep back | hold back; refuse to hand over or share.; "The father is withholding the allowance until the son cleans his room" |
| v. (stative) | 6. refuse, reject, resist | resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ.; "His body rejected the liver of the donor" |
| ~ react, respond | show a response or a reaction to something. |
| v. (social) | 7. refuse, reject, turn away, turn down | refuse entrance or membership.; "They turned away hundreds of fans"; "Black people were often rejected by country clubs" |
| ~ freeze off, spurn, disdain, pooh-pooh, scorn, turn down, reject | reject with contempt.; "She spurned his advances" |
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