Synonyms and antonyms of Reasons and excuses in American Thesaurus

reason (noun)

a fact, situation, or intention that explains why something happened, why someone did something, or why something is true

excuse (noun)

a reason that you give to explain why you have done something bad, or why you have not done something that you should have done

point (noun)

the reason for something

cause (noun)

a reason for behaving in a particular way or for feeling a particular emotion

occasion (noun)

formal a reason for something

motive (noun)

the reason that you do something

motivation (noun)

a reason for doing something

pretext (noun)

a reason that you pretend to have in order to hide your real reason or intention

ground (noun)

a reason for what you say or do, or for being allowed to say or do something

in justification of something ()

giving reasons why something is true or right

alibi (noun)

an excuse for not having done something that you should have done

a peg on which to hang something ()

something that gives you an opportunity or excuse for talking or writing about something

apology (noun)

formal a statement in which you defend or explain something such as an idea

basis (noun)

used for giving the reason why something is done

cop-out (noun)

informal something you say or do to avoid doing what you should do

end (noun)

formal the reason for a particular action or the result you want to achieve

excuse (noun)

a reason for doing something that you want to do

get-out (adjective)

mainly Britishinformal allowing you to avoid an obligation or a difficult situation

have your reasons ()

to have a personal reason for doing something that you are not going to discuss with anyone

hidden agenda (noun)

a secret reason for doing something, because you will get an advantage from it

justification (noun)

a reason why something is correct and morally right

mainspring (noun)

formal the most important cause or reason why something happens

mitigating circumstances ()

facts that help to explain a crime or mistake and make it seem less bad

mitigation (noun)

legal things that are said in a court of law to explain why someone committed a crime so that it seems less bad

motive (noun)

used in a negative way for showing that someone’s real reasons for doing something are not the ones that they tell other people

open invitation (noun)

something that seems to give people a reason or excuse for doing something wrong or illegal

out (noun)

an excuse that is used in order to avoid having to do something or in order to avoid being blamed

reason (noun)

a good or clear cause for doing something or thinking something

the reason behind something ()

the real explanation or cause of something, which is not immediately obvious

senses (noun)

a good reason, or a useful purpose

story (noun)

an excuse or a reason that is not true

ulterior motive (noun)

if you have an ulterior motive for doing something, you do it partly because you think you will get some advantage from doing it

vested interests (noun)

a special reason for wanting things to happen in a particular way, because you will benefit from this

warrant (noun)

formal a reason for doing something

the whys and wherefores ()

the reasons and explanations