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Excuse vs Lie - What's the difference?

excuse | lie |

In lang=en terms the difference between excuse and lie

is that excuse is 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 while lie is the terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.

As verbs the difference between excuse and lie

is that excuse is to forgive; to pardon while lie is to rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

As nouns the difference between excuse and lie

is that excuse is an explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment while lie is the terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.

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

    lie

    English

    (wikipedia lie)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), (m), from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) . As a noun for position, the .

    Verb

  • (label) To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • The watchful traveller / Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.
  • * 1849 , (Henry David Thoreau), (A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers)
  • Our uninquiring corpses lie more low / Than our life's curiosity doth go.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1892, author=(James Yoxall)
  • , chapter=5, title= The Lonely Pyramid , passage=The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.}}
  • (label) To be placed or situated.
  • *
  • Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-08, volume=407, issue=8839, page=52, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The new masters and commanders , passage=From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.}}
  • To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.
  • To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; used with in .
  • * (Arthur Collier) (1680-1732)
  • Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labour, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.
  • (label) To lodge; to sleep.
  • * (John Evelyn) (1620-1706)
  • While I was now trifling at home, I saw London, where I lay one night only.
  • * (Charles Dickens) (1812-1870)
  • Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.
  • To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • The wind is loud and will not lie .
  • (label) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
  • * Ch. J. Parsons
  • An appeal lies in this case.
    Derived terms
    * a lie has no legs * let sleeping dogs lie * lie back * lie by * lie doggo * lie down * lie ill in one's mouth * lie in * lie-in * lie in wait * lie low * lie upon * lie with * make one's bed and lie in it * therein lies the rub

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.
  • (medicine) The position of a fetus in the womb.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

  • To give false information intentionally.
  • When Pinocchio lies , his nose grows.
    If you are found to have lied in court, you could face a penalty.
    While a principle-based approach might claim that lying''' is always morally wrong, the casuist would argue that, depending upon the details of the case, '''lying''' might or might not be illegal or unethical. The casuist might conclude that a person is wrong to '''lie''' in legal testimony under oath, but might argue that '''lying actually is the best moral choice if the lie saves a life. (w)
  • To convey a false image or impression.
  • Photos often lie .
    Hips don't lie .
    Derived terms
    * lie through one's teeth

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.
  • I knew he was telling a lie by his facial expression.
  • A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true; a half-truth
  • Anything that misleads or disappoints.
  • * (rfdate) Trench:
  • Wishing this lie of life was o'er.
    Synonyms
    * bullshit * deception * falsehood * fib * leasing * prevarication
    Antonyms
    * truth
    Derived terms
    * barefaced lie * belie * big lie * give lie to * give the lie to * I tell a lie * lie detector * * white lie

    Statistics

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