excuse
ex-cuse
noun
A reason offered to explain or justify a mistake, failure, or offence.
"His excuse for being late was rather flimsy."
verb
To forgive someone for a minor fault, or to release them from a duty.
"Please excuse my interruption, I must leave."
Thesaurus
Synonyms: pardon, condone, exculpation, alibi, self-justification, let off, exempt, relieve, rationalise, apologise, apologize, rationalize