Serving to excuse; having the function or quality of providing an excuse or justification.
From excuse + -ive (Latin -ivus), parallel to excusative. This is a less common variant with the same meaning, emphasizing the excusing function.
The distinction between 'excusive' and 'exclusive' sounds tiny but matters—one means 'serving to excuse' while the other means 'keeping others out,' yet they're often confused even by native speakers.
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