Making excuses is when we provide false justifications for our inability to perform a task or fulfill an obligation. An example is when you claim to be too occupied to assist your colleague with a project, while the underlying reason is simply a lack of motivation. Or, you may leave a social gathering early citing reasons such as a headache – while in reality, you are actually just feeling bored.
With the exception of instances when people aim to be polite or show respect (which, truthfully, are not as frequent as desired), excuses are primarily employed as a means to evade accountability or prevent personal embarrassment for our doings/ undoings. For instance, if you fail to complete your assigned work, you might resort to justifying yourself with something like:
“I didn’t have enough time” or
“I didn’t understand the instructions.”