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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | defense |
| Synonyms: | compurgation, exoneration, extenuating circumstances, justification, mitigating circumstances, revenge, substantiation |
| Antonyms: | disproval |
| Concept: | Vindication. |
| Category: | 2. Moral sentiments |
| Synonyms: |
-nouns
vindication, justification, warant; exoneration, exculpation; acquittal; whitewashing., extenuation; palliation, palliative; softening, mitigation., reply, defense; recrimination., apology, gloss, varnish; plea; salvo; excuse, extenuating circumstances; allowance, allowance to be made; locus paenitentiae., apologist, vindicator, justifier; defendant., justifiable charge, true bill., justify, warrant; be an excuse for; lend a color, furnish a handle; vindicate; exculpate, disculpate; acquit; clear, set right, exonerate, whitewash; clear the skirts of., extenuate, palliate, excuse, soften, apologize, varnish, slur, gloze; put a gloss, put a good face upon; mince; gloss over, bolster up, help a lame dog over a stile., advocate, defend, plead one's cause; stand up for, stick up for, speak up for; contend for, speak for; bear out, keep in countenance, support; plead, [more]; say in defense; plead ignorance; confess and avoid, propugn, put in a good word for., take the will for the deed, make allowance for, do justice to; give one his due, give the Devil his due., make good; prove the truth of, prove one's case; be justified by the event.
-adjectives
vindicated, vindicating; exculpatory; apologetic., excusable, defensible, pardonable; venial, veniable; specious, plausible, justifiable.
-phrases
"honi sot qui mal y pense;" "good wine needs no bush."
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| Browse Concept Index » | |
| Main Entry: | acquittal |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | declaration removing blame |
| Synonyms: | absolution, acquitting, amnesty, clearance, deliverance, discharge, discharging, dismissal, dismissing, exculpation, exemption, exoneration, freeing, letting off, liberation, pardon, release, releasing, relief from, reprieve, vindication |
| Antonyms: | blame, censure, conviction, denunciation, doom, sentence |
| Main Entry: | alibi |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | defense against charges of wrongdoing; evidence of absence |
| Synonyms: | account, affirmation, airtight case, allegation, answer, assertion, assurance, avowal, case, cop-out, cover, declaration, excuse, explanation, fish story, justification, plea, pretext, profession, proof, reason, reply, retort, song and dance, stall, statement, vindication |
| 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 |
| Main Entry: | answer |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reply; reaction |
| Synonyms: | acknowledgment, antiphon, back talk, backcap, band-aid, close, comeback, comment, cooler, counterclaim, crack, defense, disclosure, echo, elucidation, explanation, feedback, guff, interpretation, justification, key, lip, observation, parting shot, pay dirt, plea, quick fix, rebuttal, refutation, rejoinder, remark, repartee, report, resolution, response, result, retort, return, rhetorical question, riposte, sign, solution, statement, thank-you note, the ticket, topper, vindication, wisecrack |
| Notes: | an answer is something said, written, or done in return; a reply is an answer that satisfies a detail in a question |
| Antonyms: | question |
| Main Entry: | apology |
| 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: | assertion |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | declaration, positive statement |
| Synonyms: | affirmation, allegation, asservation, attestation, avowal, contention, defense, insistence, maintenance, mouthful, okay, predication, profession, pronouncement, report, say so, stamp of approval, stressing, two cents' worth, vindication |
| Antonyms: | denial, rejection |
| 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
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
