extenuate

verb

ex·​ten·​u·​ate ik-ˈsten-yə-ˌwāt 

-yü-ˌāt

extenuated; extenuating

transitive verb

1

: to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of (something, such as a fault or offense) by making partial excuses : mitigate

There is no economic analysis that can extenuate bigotry.

—Leon Wieseltier

… all the lies that society tells to justify its values and extenuate its conduct …

—Robert Penn Warren

see also extenuating

2

: to lessen the strength or effect of (something) : weaken

… it was true that he was an old friend and that … she felt a desire not to extenuate such ties.

—Henry James

3

a

archaic : to make light of

b

obsolete : disparage

4

archaic : to make thin or emaciated

extenuator

ik-ˈsten-yə-ˌwā-tər 

-yü-ˌā-

noun

extenuatory

ik-ˈsten-yə-wə-ˌtȯr-ē 

-yü-ə-

adjective

Did you know?

Extenuate is most familiar in the phrase “extenuating circumstances,” which refers to situations or facts that provide a partial justification or excuse for something. The word extenuate can, however, also be used all on its own. Its most typical use is with the meaning “to lessen the strength or effect of something, such as a risk,” but it also has legal use closely related to the meaning of “extenuating circumstances”; to extenuate a crime, offense, etc., is to lessen or to try to lessen its seriousness or extent by making partial excuses. Extenuate didn’t get its start in this semantic territory, however. It was borrowed into English in the 1500s with a now-archaic meaning it took directly from its Latin forebear, extenuare: “to make light of; to treat as unimportant.” Extenuate is today mostly at home in technical and legal contexts, but it occasionally appears in general writing with what may be a developing meaning: “to prolong, worsen, or exaggerate.” This meaning, which is likely influenced by the words extend and accentuate, is not yet fully established.

Synonyms

• deodorize
• excuse
• explain away
• gloss (over)
• gloze (over)
• palliate
• whitewash

Examples of extenuate in a Sentence

don't even try to extenuate their vandalism of the cemetery with the old refrain of “Boys will be boys”

Word History

Etymology

Latin extenuatus, past participle of extenuare, from ex- + tenuis thin — more at thin

First Known Use

1529, in the meaning defined at sense 3a

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Kids Definition

extenuate

verb

ex·​ten·​u·​ate ik-ˈsten-yə-ˌwāt 

extenuated; extenuating

: to try to make less serious by partial excuses

extenuation

-ˌsten-yə-ˈwā-shən

noun