Excuse an ex-tutee freaking out (9)
I believe the answer is:
extenuate
'excuse' is the definition.
(I know that extenuate is a more specific form of excuse)
'an ex-tutee freaking out' is the wordplay.
'freaking out' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'an'+'ex'+'tutee'='anextutee'
'anextutee' with letters rearranged gives 'EXTENUATE'.
(Other definitions for extenuate that I've seen before include "Lessen the seriousness of (an offence) with a mitigating factor" , "Mitigate" .)