I.
noun
1 reason given
ADJECTIVE
▪ perfect , wonderful
▪ excellent , good , great , legitimate , valid
▪ convincing , decent , plausible , reasonable
▪ acceptable
▪
an acceptable ~ for missing school
▪ bad , feeble , flimsy , lame , lousy ( esp. AmE ), pathetic , poor , weak ( esp. AmE )
▪ convenient , easy , handy
▪
The children provided a convenient ~ for missing the party.
▪ dumb ( AmE ), ridiculous , stupid
▪
He made up some stupid ~ to the teachers.
▪ standard , usual
▪ built-in ( AmE )
▪
a built-in ~ for failure
▪ possible
▪
What possible ~ could he have?
▪ every
▪
She seized on every ~ to avoid doing the work.
▪ the slightest
▪
He became moody and unreasonable, flailing out at Katherine at the slightest ~.
VERB + EXCUSE
▪ have
▪
He had no ~ for being so late.
▪ give , make , offer
▪
She made some feeble ~ about the car having broken down.
▪
You don't have to make ~s for her (= try to think of reasons for her actions) .
▪
It's late. I'm afraid I'll have to make my ~s (= say I'm sorry, give my reasons and leave) .
▪ give sb , offer sb , provide (sb with)
▪
Delivering the stuff for George gave me an ~ to take the car.
▪
Her mother's illness provided her with an ~ to stay at home.
▪ need
▪ look for
▪ create , find , invent , make up , think of , think up
▪
She had to find a valid ~ for leaving the room.
▪
He made up a rather lame ~ for the work being late.
▪ use sth as
▪
The political crisis is being used as an ~ to dock people's pay.
▪ run out of
▪
He's run out of ~s for not cleaning his room.
▪ become
▪
Don't let perfectionism become an ~ for never getting started.
▪ mumble
▪
Justin mumbled some ~ and left.
▪ accept , believe , buy ( informal , esp. AmE )
▪ hear
▪
I don't want to hear any more ~s.
▪ reject
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ about
▪
He invented a pathetic ~ about losing his watch.
▪ ~ for
▪
It's just an ~ for a party.
PHRASES
▪ there is no ~ for …
▪
There's no ~ for such conduct.
2 bad example of sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ lousy ( esp. AmE ), miserable , pathetic , pitiful , poor , sad , sorry ( esp. AmE )
▪
She's a pitiful ~ for an actress.
▪
a sorry ~ for a man
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ for
▪
Why get involved with that pathetic ~ for a human being?
II.
verb
Excuse is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ behaviour , ↑ failure