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Prevarication vs Excuse - What's the difference?

prevarication | excuse |

As a noun prevarication

is maladministration.

As a verb excuse is

.

prevarication

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Deviation from what is right or correct; transgression, perversion.
  • Evasion of the truth; deceit, evasiveness.
    • Prevarication became the order of the day in his government while truth was a stranger in those halls.
  • * Cowper
    • The august tribunal of the skies, where no prevarication shall avail.
  • * 2012 , The Economist, Oct 6th 2012, Charlemagne: Mysterious Mariano
    • Mr Rajoy frustrates many with his prevarication over a fresh euro-zone bail-out, which now comes with a conditional promise from the European Central Bank (ECB) to help bring down Spain’s stifling borrowing costs.
  • A secret abuse in the exercise of a public office.
  • (legal, historical, Ancient Rome) The collusion of an informer with the defendant, for the purpose of making a sham prosecution.
  • (legal) A false or deceitful seeming to undertake a thing for the purpose of defeating or destroying it.
    • (Cowell)
    (Webster 1913)

    Related terms

    * prevaricate * prevaricator

    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 ----