Pardons (7)
I believe the answer is:
excuses
'pardons' is the definition.
('excuse' can be a synonym of 'pardon')
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for excuses that I've seen before include "Forgives" , "Defences of offensive behaviour" , "Lets (someone) off duty" , "Releases from a duty" , "Defences of objective behaviour" .)