Excusing: meaning, definitions and examples

This term is often used when someone is providing a reason or justification for an action or behavior, sometimes to avoid blame.

• She kept excusing his tardiness by saying he had a lot of work.
• He was excusing himself for not being able to attend the meeting.

Forgive is used in situations where someone is asked to release feelings of resentment or anger towards another person who has committed a wrong or mistake. It often carries a strong emotional and personal connotation.

• It's hard to forgive someone who has hurt you deeply.
• After their argument, she decided to forgive him.

Pardon is often used in formal or legal contexts to mean officially forgiving someone for a wrongdoing, or in a polite context asking to be excused. It can sometimes feel less personal and more institutional.

• The governor decided to pardon the prisoner after new evidence was found.
• Pardon me, could you repeat what you said?

Overlook is typically used in a more neutral context to mean disregarding or ignoring someone's mistake or fault, often implying that it's not worthy of drawing attention to.

• I can overlook a few mistakes in his report since he's usually very thorough.
• She decided to overlook his rude comment and continued the conversation.

This word is typically used when someone is attempting to get forgiveness for a minor mistake or social misstep.

• She quickly began excusing herself for the late arrival
• He spent the entire lunch excusing his behavior at the meeting