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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | offering of remorse, regret |
| Synonyms: | acknowledgment, admission, amends, atonement, concession, confession, defense, excuse, explanation, extenuation, justification, mea culpa, mitigation, plea, redress, reparation, vindication |
| Antonyms: | accusation, censure, charge, complaint, condemnation, criticism, defiance, indictment |
| Main Entry: | amends |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | compensation |
| Synonyms: | apology, atonement, expiation, indemnification, indemnity, quittance, recompense, redress, reparation, reprisal, requital, restitution, restoration, satisfaction |
| Main Entry: | defense |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | explanation, justification |
| Synonyms: | answer, apologetics, apologia, apologizing, apology, argument, cleanup, copout, exculpation, excuse, excusing, exoneration, explaining, extenuation, fish story, jive, off-time, plea, rationalization, rejoinder, reply, response, retort, return, song and dance, story, vindication, whitewash |
| Antonyms: | betrayal, capitulation, yielding |
| Main Entry: | excuse |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reason, explanation |
| Synonyms: | alibi, apology, cleanup, cop-out, cover story, cover*, coverup, defense, disguise, evasion, expedient, extenuation, fish story, grounds, jive, justification, makeshift, mitigation, plea, pretext, rationalization, regrets, routine, semblance, shift, song and dance, song*, stall, stopgap, story, substitute, subterfuge, trick*, vindication, whitewash, why and wherefore |
| Notes: | an alias is an assumed name, an alibi is a form of defense whereby a defendant attempts to prove that he or she was elsewhere when the crime in question was committed, while an excuse is an explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness a pardon is the act of excusing a mistake or offense; an excuse is an explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | justification |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reason, excuse |
| Synonyms: | absolution, account, acquittal, advocacy, answer, apologia, apology, approval, argument, basis, confirmation, defense, exculpation, exoneration, explanation, extenuation, grounds, idea, mitigation, palliation, palliative, plea, pretext, raison d'être, rationale, rationalization, rebuttal, redemption, reply, response, salvation, sanctification, song and dance, story, support, validation, vindication, warrant, whatfor, wherefore, whitewashing, whole idea, why and wherefore |
| Main Entry: | parody |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | imitation, spoof |
| Synonyms: | apology, burlesque, caricature, cartoon, copy, derision, farce, irony, jest, joke, lampoon, mime, mimicry, misrepresentation, mock-heroic, mockery, pastiche, play-on, raillery, rib, ridicule, roast, satire, send-up, skit, takeoff, travesty |
| Antonyms: | reality, truth |
| Main Entry: | plea |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | excuse, defense |
| Synonyms: | action, alibi, allegation, apology, argument, cause, claim, cop-out, explanation, extenuation, fish tale, justification, mitigation, out, palliation, pleading, pretext, rationalization, right, song and dance, story, vindication, whitewash |
| Antonyms: | decision, sentence |
| Main Entry: | reason |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | explanation for an action |
| Synonyms: | account, apologia, apology, argument, case, cover, defense, excuse, exposition, ground, idea, justification, notion, proof, rationale, rationalization, song and dance, sour grapes, the whole idea, vindication, whatfor, wherefore, why and wherefore, why*, whyfor |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | regret |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | upset over past action |
| Synonyms: | affliction, anguish, annoyance, apologies, apology, bitterness, care, compunction, concern, conscience, contrition, demur, disappointment, discomfort, dissatisfaction, dole, grief, heartache, heartbreak, lamentation, misgiving, nostalgia, pang, penitence, qualm, regretfulness, remorse, repentance, ruefulness, scruple, self-accusation, self-condemnation, self-disgust, self-reproach, sorrow, uneasiness, woe, worry |
| Notes: | regret carries no explicit admission that one is responsible for an incident, while remorse implies a sense of guilty responsibility and a greater feeling of personal pain and anguish |
| Antonyms: | contentedness, happiness, satisfaction |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
