Related Searches
Nearby Words
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make excuse; justify |
| Synonyms: | account for, apply logic, cop a plea, cop out, deliberate, elucidate, excise, excuse, explain away, extenuate, give alibi, intellectualize, justify, make allowance, reason, reason out, reconcile, resolve, think, think through, vindicate |
| Main Entry: | cop out |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | abandon, quit |
| Synonyms: | back down, back off, back out, backpedal, desert, dodge, excuse, give the slip, have alibi, rationalize, renege, renounce, revoke, skip, use pretext, welsh, withdraw |
| Antonyms: | be ready, face, ready, take on |
| Main Entry: | defend |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | show support for |
| Synonyms: | advocate, aid, apologize for, argue, assert, back, back up, bear one out, befriend, champion, come to defense of, cover for, endorse, espouse, exculpate, exonerate, explain, go to bat for, guarantee, justify, maintain, plead, prove a case, put in a good word, rationalize, recommend, ride shotgun for, say in defense, second, speak up for, stand by, stand up for, stick up for, stonewall, support, sustain, thump for, uphold, vindicate, warrant |
| Antonyms: | deny, forsake, renounce |
| Main Entry: | exculpate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | forgive |
| Synonyms: | absolve, acquit, amnesty, clear, condone, discharge, disculpate, dismiss, excuse, exonerate, explain, free, justify, let off, pardon, rationalize, release, remit, vindicate, wipe slate clean |
| Notes: | to exculpate is 'to free from accusation or blame' while exonerate is literally 'to free from a burden' |
| Antonyms: | blame, condemn, sentence |
| Main Entry: | excuse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | forgive, absolve; justify |
| Synonyms: | acquit, alibi, apologize for, appease, bear with, clear, condone, cover, defend, discharge, dispense from, exculpate, exempt, exempt from, exonerate, explain, extenuate, forgive, free, give absolution, grant amnesty, indulge, let go, let off, liberate, make allowances for, mitigate, overlook, pardon, pass over, plead ignorance, pretext, purge, rationalize, release, relieve, remit, reprieve, shrive, shrug off, spare, take rap for, tolerate, vindicate, whitewash, wink at |
| 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 |
| Main Entry: | explain |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make clear; give a reason for |
| Synonyms: | account for, analyze, annotate, break down, bring out, clarify, clear up, construe, decipher, define, demonstrate, describe, diagram, disclose, elucidate, excuse, explicate, expound, get across, go into detail, illustrate, interpret, justify, make plain, manifest, paraphrase, point out, put across, put in plain English, rationalize, read, refine, render, resolve, reveal, set right, solve, spell out, teach, tell, throw light upon, translate, unfold, unravel, untangle |
| Notes: | explicate also contains the implication that the something of which an account is being given is more complicated or detailed - so while one may explain why a child is crying, one would explicate the meaning of a poem or implications of a legal document; early senses of explain were 'smooth out' and 'spread flat' |
| Antonyms: | be vague, complicate, confuse, mystify, obscure, perplex |
| Main Entry: | gloss |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | conceal truth |
| Synonyms: | belie, camouflage, cover up, deacon, disguise, doctor, explain, extenuate, falsify, hide, justify, mask, misrepresent, palliate, rationalize, smooth over, soft-pedal, sugarcoat, varnish, veil, veneer, white, whiten, whitewash |
| Antonyms: | clear up, explain, reveal |
| Main Entry: | justify |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | legitimize, substantiate |
| Synonyms: | absolve, acquit, advocate, alibi, answer for, apologize for, approve, argue for, assert, be answerable for, bear out, brief, claim, clear, condone, confirm, contend, cop a plea, countenance, crawl, defend, do justice to, establish, exculpate, excuse, exonerate, explain, favor, legalize, maintain, make allowances, make good, palliate, pardon, plead, rationalize, rebut, show cause, speak in favor, square, stand up for, support, sustain, uphold, validate, verify, vindicate, warrant |
| Main Entry: | reason |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | mentally analyze |
| Synonyms: | adduce, cerebrate, cogitate, conclude, contemplate, decide, deduce, deduct, deliberate, draw conclusion, draw from, examine, figure out, gather, generalize, infer, make out, philosophize, ratiocinate, rationalize, reflect, resolve, solve, speculate, study, suppose, syllogize, think, think through, thresh out, work out |
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.
