excuse

/ɪkˈskjuːz/

//ɪkˈskjuːz// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"excuse" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“excuse” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,676. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,676
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.

Corpus desk

Index EN-excuse · excuse · English

excuse · rank #2,676 · 8 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,676
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH exclusive

Nearest frequency peer: exclusive (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “excuse”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “excuse” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

excuse vs exposé
50% similar
excuse vs execute
71% similar
excuse vs excused
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for excuse
PropertyValue
Headwordexcuse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɪkˈskjuːz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,676
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “excuse”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).excuselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “exclusive” (#2,675), “expert” (#2,677), “employment” (#2,674). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “excuse” is #2,676. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around excuse (IPA /ɪkˈskjuːz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,676 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for excuse, with forms such as "ecxuse", "exccuse", and "excsue". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "exposé", "execute", "excused", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English excusen (verb) and excuse (noun), borrowed from Old French escuser (verb) and excuse (noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre (“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex (“out”) + causa (“a charge”); see cause, acc… The correct English form is excuse, spelled E-X-C-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.
  2. 2
    To allow to leave, or release from any obligation.
  3. 3
    To provide an excuse for; to justify.
  4. 4
    To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon or indulgence for.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how excuse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I excused him his transgressions.
  2. Yet his Nature / In that’s no Changeling, and I muſt excuſe / What cannot be amended.

Etymology

From Middle English excusen (verb) and excuse (noun), borrowed from Old French escuser (verb) and excuse (noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre (“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex (“out”) + causa (“a charge”); see cause, accuse and recuse. Displaced native Old English lād (“an excuse”) and lādian (“to excuse”).

Synonyms

forgivelet off the hooklet passpardonunguiltpleadadduce

Antonyms

blamepunish

This word in other languages

excusar(Español)excuser(Français)entschuldigen(Deutsch)desculpar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ecxuse
  • exccuse
  • excsue
  • excues
  • excusse
  • exucse
  • exxcuse
  • xecuse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of excuse - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ecxuse2exccuse1excsue2excues2excusse1exucse2exxcuse1xecuse2
Edit distance from "excuse"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "excuse"?
"excuse" is spelled E-X-C-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪkˈskjuːz/.
What does "excuse" mean?
As a verb, "excuse" means: To forgive; to pardon; to overlook.
What words are commonly confused with "excuse"?
"excuse" is commonly confused with "exposé", "execute", "excused". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "excuse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "excuse" is /ɪkˈskjuːz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "excuse"?
From Middle English excusen (verb) and excuse (noun), borrowed from Old French escuser (verb) and excuse (noun), from Latin excūsō, excūsāre (“to excuse, allege in excuse, literally, free from a charge”), from ex (“out”) + causa (“a charge”); see ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "excuse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

expert#2,677crying#2,666latter#2,686mining#2,688

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

crown8 variantsunlike8 variantssevere8 variantstight8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list