extenuate

[ ik-sten-yoo-eyt ]

/ ɪkˈstɛn yuˌeɪt /

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See synonyms for: extenuate / extenuating / extenuative on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), ex·ten·u·at·ed, ex·ten·u·at·ing.

to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious: to extenuate a crime.

to serve to make (a fault, offense, etc.) seem less serious.

to underestimate, underrate, or make light of: Do not extenuate the difficulties we are in.

Archaic.

to make thin, lean, or emaciated.
to reduce the consistency or density of.

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Origin of extenuate

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin extenuātus, past participle of extenuāre, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + tenuāre “to make thin or small”; see origin at thin;see also -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM extenuate

ex·ten·u·at·ing, adjectiveex·ten·u·a·tive, adjectiveex·ten·u·a·tor, nounnon·ex·ten·u·a·tive, adjective

Words nearby extenuate

extensive, extensively, extensometer, extensor, extent, extenuate, extenuating, extenuating circumstance, extenuating circumstances, extenuation, extenuatory

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use extenuate in a sentence

In general, getting in touch with someone at Etsy to resolve problems or explain extenuating circumstances feels harder than ever.
Why Thousands of Etsy’s Sellers, Including Me, Are On Strike|Megan Kirby|April 14, 2022|Time
Kolker chose his contexts very carefully and omitted many extenuating facts on Dorland’s side, and subsequent revelations complicated the narrative he presented.
Is Jeremy Strong the bad art friend?|Aja Romano|December 17, 2021|Vox
They attempted to extenuate their crimes by the hardships they had suffered, but in vain.
The History of Tasmania , Volume II (of 2)|John West
This reflection may extenuate my faults in their effects, but it must aggravate them in their source.
The Confessions of J. J. Rousseau, Complete|Jean Jacques Rousseau

The Lords' committee extenuate the presumption that either knights or burgesses sat in any of these parliaments.
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 (of 3)|Henry Hallam
If some dozen of the conniving deputies had been sent there, Warden Tapp might have had less to extenuate.
The Incendiary|W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
But whether he is to be believed or not, the fact that four of the prisoners went down in irons is impossible to extenuate.
Voyage of H.M.S. Pandora|Edward Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for extenuate

extenuate

/ (ɪkˈstɛnjʊˌeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to represent (an offence, a fault, etc) as being less serious than it appears, as by showing mitigating circumstances

to cause to be or appear less serious; mitigate

to underestimate or make light of

archaic

to emaciate or weaken
to dilute or thin out

Derived forms of extenuate

extenuating, adjectiveextenuation, nounextenuator, nounextenuatory, adjective

Word Origin for extenuate

C16: from Latin extenuāre to make thin, from tenuis thin, frail

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

extenuate

Origin of extenuate

OTHER WORDS FROM extenuate

Words nearby extenuate

Words related to extenuate

How to use extenuate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for extenuate

Derived forms of extenuate

Word Origin for extenuate