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Excused vs Accused - What's the difference?

excused | accused |

As verbs the difference between excused and accused

is that excused is (excuse) while accused is (accuse).

As a noun accused is

(legal) the person charged with an offense; the defendant in a criminal case.

As an adjective accused is

having been accused; being the target of accusations.

excused

English

Verb

(head)
  • (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 ----

    accused

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • (accuse)

    • Noun

    (accused)
  • (legal) The person charged with an offense; the defendant in a criminal case.

    • Usage notes

    * (noun) Preceded by the word the .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having been accused; being the target of accusations.
  • * 1883 , Charlotte Mary Yonge, Landmarks of Recent History, 1770-1883 , Walter Smith (publisher), pages 11–12:
    • This power chiefly fell to the queen, and she was more accused than ever of too much leaning towards her own country;
  • * 1891 , Charles Grant Robertson, Caesar Borgia: The Stanhope Essay for 1891 , B.H. Blackwell, pages 8–9:
    • Naples had an almost stronger preference for the interposition of Spain, while the great republic of Venice in the eyes of Italy stood accused of aspiring to bring the whole peninsula under its sway,
  • * 2007 , Patricia Love and Steven Stosny, How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking about It: Finding Love Beyond Words , Random House, ISBN 9780767923170, page 188:
    • If she felt unimportant, you showed her that she was important to you. If she felt accused , you reassured her. If she felt guilty, you helped her feel better.

    Anagrams

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