Excuse
Excuse noun - An explanation that frees one from fault or blame.
Usage example: “a really important business call” is no excuse for not paying proper attention to one's driving
Guise
Guise noun - A display of emotion or behavior that is insincere or intended to deceive.
Usage example: my new neighbor began seeking my company under the guise of friendship, but he turned out to be a member of a religious cult bent on conversion
How words are described
| usual | usual excuse | usual guise |
| reasonable | reasonable excuse | reasonable guise |
| simple | simple excuse | simple guise |
| real | real excuse | real guise |
| Other adjectives: big, great, feeble, thin, transparent, new, different, paper-thin. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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The Russian chaplain who came up with the idea of chaplains taking responsibility for Mercy Killing infected personnel accidentally gave Putin the excuse to kill dissidents and undesirables under the guise of infection, and believes Putin did nothing wrong in making himself theocratic dictator.
Source: Literature / World War Z - Bewitched uses this trope as a flimsy excuse for a rerun, where an entire episode will be replayed under the guise of a flashback
Source: Whole Episode Flashback -
He tries sacrificing himself under the guise of chivalry to both Britannia and supposedly Japan as an excuse to fulfill his death wish, but mostly serves to derail Lelouch's plans before they would otherwise bear maximum results.
Source: Byronic Hero
Cite this Source
Guise and Excuse. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/excuse/guise
Excuse & Guise. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/excuse/guise>.
Guise or Excuse. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/excuse/guise.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "excuse" and "guise" have occurred on timeline