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Excuse vs Excusatory - What's the difference?

excuse | excusatory |

As a verb excuse

is .

As an adjective excusatory is

serving to make an excuse.

excuse

English

Verb

(excus)
  • To forgive; to pardon.
    • I excused him his transgressions.
  • * Shakespeare
    • I must excuse what cannot be amended.
  • * Archbishop Sharp
    • A man's persuasion that a thing is duty, will not excuse him from guilt in practising it, if really and indeed it be against God's law.
  • To allow to leave.
    • May I be excused from the table?
    I excused myself from the proceedings to think over what I'd heard.
  • To provide an excuse for; to explain, with the aim of alleviating guilt or negative judgement.
    • 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.
  • * Bible, 2. Corinthians xii. 19
    • Think ye that we excuse ourselves to you?

    Synonyms

    * forgive, let off the hook, let pass, pardon, unguilt

    Derived terms

    * excuse me * excuse my French

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment.
    • Tell me why you were late – and I don't want to hear any excuses !
  • (legal) 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.
  • An example.(attention)
    • That thing is a poor excuse for a gingerbread man. Hasn't anyone taught you how to bake?
    He's a sorry excuse of a doctor.

    Usage notes

    * We often say to make an excuse.

    Synonyms

    * (explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment ): pretext

    External links

    * * English heteronyms ----

    excusatory

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • serving to make an excuse
  • * {{quote-book, year=1900, author=Joseph Warren Keifer, title=Slavery and Four Years of War, Vol. 1-2, chapter=, edition= citation
    • , passage=General Grant to Halleck, in an excusatory and exculpatory letter (May 7th), as to the disaster on his right, said: "Milroy's old brigade was attacked and gave way in great confusion, almost without resistance, carrying good troops with them." }}
  • * {{quote-book, year=1906, author=John Foreman, title=The Philippine Islands, chapter=, edition= citation
    • , passage=Before entering another (middle- or lower-class) native's house, he is very complimentary, and sometimes three minutes' polite excusatory dialogue is exchanged between the visitor and the native visited before the former passes the threshold. }}
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2008 , date=April 8 , author=Marcel Berlins , title=Who owns the whale they couldn't save? , work=The Guardian citation , passage=There are two excusatory phrases in the criminal justice lexicon which provoke in me immediate suspicion, especially when used by government ministers or the police. One is "there are safeguards", the other "innocent people have nothing to fear".}}