ˈæl.ə.baɪ əˈpɒləˌdʒaɪz əˈpɑləd͡ʒaɪz əˈpɒləd͡ʒaɪz əˈpɒl.ə.dʒi kənˈdoʊn kənˈdəʊn ɪkˈskjuːz ɪksˈkjuz ɪkˈskjuːz ɪksˈkjuz ɪɡˈzɛmpt ɪkˈspleɪn ˈpɑɹ.dən ˈpɑːdən ˈpɑɹ.dn̩ ˈɹæʃənəleɪz ɹɪˈliːv excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with excuse someone's behavior She condoned her husband's occasional infidelities serve as a reason or cause or justification of Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again grant exemption or release to Please excuse me from this class ask for permission to be released from an engagement defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior he rationalized his lack of success accept an excuse for Please excuse my dirty hands a poor example it was an apology for a meal a poor excuse for an automobile a note explaining an absence he had to get his mother to write an excuse for him a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc. he kept finding excuses to stay every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job his transparent self-justification was unacceptable