excuse: meaning and words from its letters
6 letters · 15 letter points · starts with E · ends with E
Meaning of excuse
verb
- transitive
To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.
Example: I excused him his transgressions.
- transitive
To allow to leave, or release from any obligation.
Example: May I be excused from the table?
- transitive
To provide an excuse for; to justify.
Example: You know he shouldn't have done it, so don't try to excuse his behavior!
To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.
Listed forms: excuses, excusing, excused.
Source: Wiktionary — excuse.
noun
- countable, uncountable
An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment; a plea offered in extenuation of a fault.
Example: Tell me why you were late – and I don't want to hear any excuses!
- countable, uncountable
A defense to a criminal or civil charge wherein the accused party admits to doing acts for which legal consequences would normally be appropriate, but asserts that special circumstances relieve that party of culpability for having done those acts.
- countable, often, uncountable
An example of something that is substandard or of inferior quality.
Example: That thing is a poor excuse for a gingerbread man. Hasn't anyone taught you how to bake?
Listed forms: excuses.
Source: Wiktionary — excuse.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org. Selected senses and forms; quotations omitted. Definition text is CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms by meaning
Words are grouped by sense, so they are not necessarily interchangeable in every context. Search synonyms for excuse.
noun
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
- alibi
- exculpation
- self-justification
noun
a poor example
verb
accept an excuse for
verb
grant exemption or release to
Open English WordNet Team, 2025, derived from Princeton University WordNet; selected synonym groups under CC BY 4.0. Source · OEWN notice · Princeton notice.
Is excuse in our word lists?
| Word list | Status |
|---|---|
| American English | Found |
| British English | Found |
| Extended English | Found |
These are spelling-list matches, not official game validity checks. Check the rules and dictionary used by your game.
Letter-value score of excuse
E(1) + X(8) + C(3) + U(1) + S(1) + E(1) = 15 points.
This is a sum of letter values without board bonuses or word multipliers. A blank tile is worth zero: subtract the value of each letter supplied by a blank. The score does not establish game validity. Full letter-value table.
Anagrams of excuse
0 other standard-list words use exactly these letters, including repeated letters.
No other single-word anagram was found in our standard list.
Shorter words from excuse
17 shorter standard-list words can be made using no letter more often than it occurs in excuse. Showing up to 24, longest first.