Absolve
Absolve verb - To free from a charge of wrongdoing.
Usage example: no amount of remorse will absolve shoplifters who are caught, and all cases will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law
Excuse is a synonym for absolve in action topic. In some cases you can use "Excuse" instead the word "Absolve" as a verb or a noun, when it comes to topics like pardon, duty, free, exonerate. popular alternative
Nearby Words: absolution, absolving
Excuse
Excuse verb - To dismiss as of little importance.
Usage example: more often than not, voters are willing to excuse a candidate's youthful indiscretion
Absolve is a synonym for excuse in free topic. You can use "Absolve" instead a verb "Excuse", if it concerns topics such as forgive, pardon, exonerate, atone. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Anders in Dragon Age II became possessed by a spirit of Justice/Vengeance, and blows up a chantry, but some extreme fans excuse and absolve his actions.
- These hidden feelings, even if they have no canon foundation initially, allow 'subtext' which gives fandom the excuse to absolve them of responsibility for their various beatings and emotional attacks.
Source: Analysis / Nickelodeon - Freudian Excuse: The killers in The Snowman and The Leopard both have them, but Nesbø makes it plain that this does not in any way absolve them of responsibility for their actions.
Source: Literature / Harry Hole
Cite this Source
Excuse and Absolve. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/absolve/excuse
Absolve & Excuse. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/absolve/excuse>.
Excuse or Absolve. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/absolve/excuse.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "absolve" and "excuse" have occurred on timeline