What does excuse in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word excuse in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use excuse in French.

The word excuse in French means excuse, excuse, pretext, apologies, fool, give your apologies, send your apologies, excuse, excuse for , forgive for, excuse, forgive, excuse, justify, defend, apologize, apologize for, excuse, play the Fool, excuse me, pardon me, Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, note, pathetic excuse, feeble excuse. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word excuse

excuse

nom féminin (justification, explication)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Son excuse n'était pas valable, il aurait dû nous téléphoner pour nous prévenir.
His excuse was not valid; he should have phoned to let us know.

excuse, pretext

nom féminin (prétexte)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Vincent a dit qu'il devait travailler, mais ce n'était qu'une excuse, il ne voulait en fait pas venir.
Vincent said he had to work, but it was just an excuse; he didn't want to come really.

apologies

nom féminin pluriel (expression d'un regret)

(plural noun: Noun always used in plural form--for example, "jeans," "scissors.")
L'accusé a exprimé ses excuses à la victime.

fool

nom féminin (Tarot : carte) (tarot cards)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le joueur a sorti son excuse, ce qui lui a permis de garder son jeu intact.
The player played his fool, which allowed him to keep his hand intact.

give your apologies, send your apologies

adjectif (qui a prévenu de son absence)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Trois membres sont présents et un est excusé, nous avons donc le quorum.
Three members are here and one has sent his apologies, so we have a quorum.

excuse

verbe transitif (pardonner)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Excusez mon mari, il peut être maladroit parfois. Excusez-moi, mes mots ont dépassé ma pensée.

excuse for , forgive for

(pardonner)

Je vous prie d'excuser mon fils pour son comportement mais il ne dort vraiment pas bien en ce moment. Excusez-moi pour mon retard.
I'm sorry about my son's behaviour, but he's really not sleeping well at the moment.

excuse, forgive

verbe transitif (pardonner)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Veuillez excuser le comportement de mes enfants, ils traversent un âge difficile.

excuse, justify, defend

verbe transitif (admettre)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
On ne peut excuser un tel comportement.
You can't excuse behavior like that.

apologize

verbe pronominal (demander pardon)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
C'est vrai, j'ai mal agi. Je m'excuse.
I did behave badly. I'm sorry.

apologize for

verbe pronominal (demander pardon pour)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
En arrivant, le commercial s'est excusé de son retard.
When he arrived, the sales rep apologized for his lateness.

excuse

verbe pronominal (contredire poliment)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Je m'excuse, mais cela ne s'est pas passé comme ça !
Excuse me, but that's not how it happened!

play the Fool

verbe pronominal (Tarot : abattre l'excuse) (Tarot)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Vincent s'est excusé sur ce pli pour protéger son petit.
Vincent played the Fool in this hand in order to protect his lowest trump.

excuse me, pardon me

interjection (pardon)

Sorry, I'm sorry

(impropre mais courant (je suis désolé) (apology)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
Je n'aurais jamais dû te dire ça, c'était méchant. Je m'excuse.

I'm sorry

(je ne suis pas d'accord) (disagreement)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
Je m'excuse, mais c'est bien moi qui ai réussi.

note

nom masculin (justificatif d'une absence)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Lorsque tu reviens à l'école après une absence non justifiée, il faut apporter un mot d'excuse de tes parents au directeur.

pathetic excuse, feeble excuse

nom féminin (excuse très mauvaise)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of excuse in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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