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
Reason is a synonym for excuse in justification topic. In some cases you can use "Reason" instead the word "Excuse" as a noun or a verb, when it comes to topics like motive, subject, language, explanation. popular alternative
Reason
Reason noun - A statement given to explain a belief or act.
Usage example: she gave a good reason for her seemingly suspicious behavior
Excuse is a synonym for reason in explanation topic. You can use "Excuse" instead the word "Reason" as a noun or a verb, if it concerns topics such as motive, subject, language, justification. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| good | good excuse | good reason |
| exact | exact excuse | exact reason |
| better | better excuse | better reason |
| similar | similar excuse | similar reason |
| Other adjectives: common, legitimate, valid, obvious, simple, actual, real, big, little, main, new, major, possible, less, plausible, official, strange, different. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Everyone either has a genuine reason or an excuse, in the middle of which, Mike offers "I don't feel like it."
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She kept on calling him "a monster", which was apparently her reason or excuse for abusing him.
Source: Video Game / Phantasmagoria 2 -
In "Monkey Brains" he makes a flow chart with every conceivable excuse or reason to hang out with April for any possibility.
Cite this Source
Reason and Excuse. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/excuse/reason
Excuse & Reason. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/excuse/reason>.
Reason or Excuse. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/excuse/reason.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "excuse" and "reason" have occurred on timeline