English Vocabulary in Use: Advanced Book with Answers and Enhanced eBook Vocabulary Reference and Practice 3rd Edition

excuse 
explanation
cast-iron, convincing, perfect, phoney 
alibi
flimsy, false
pretext [pretended reason for doing something 
rather than real reason]
He offered his most 
heartfelt apology for having offended everyone. 
[most sincere apology]
It was a rather 
lame excuse, and nobody really believed it. 
[weak excuse]
The police were convinced the suspect’s 
explanation was phoney, but could not prove it. 
[false]
The police questioned her about the murder, but she had a 
cast-iron alibi: she had spent the whole 
day teaching at the local primary school. 
[firm reason why she was innocent]
He got an interview with her on the rather 
flimsy pretext of being interested in her research. 
[weak and not very believable excuse]
Regretfulness in legal contexts
1
feeling of guilt or regret
2
declared not guilty (noun = 
acquittal)
3
said he was sorry and asked for forgiveness (noun = 
repentance)
The President issued a 
posthumous pardon to the man, who, it seems, had been wrongly accused of 
treason. 
[official forgiveness after someone’s death for crimes they were unjustly convicted for]
The Committee of Inquiry 
exonerated the Minister from all responsibility for the disaster. 
[declared 
someone to be free of blame]
The condemned man received a last-minute 
reprieve the day before he was due to be executed. 
[official 
order stopping or delaying punishment]
It is hard for the victims of crime to 
forgive and forget. (these two verbs are always in this order)
Peace and reconciliation
type of agreement
explanation and example
treaty
written agreement between two or more countries: 
The two nations signed a