extenuate

[ik-sten-yoo-eyt]

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

Origin of extenuate

1375–1425; late Middle English (adj.) < Latin extenuātus, past participle of extenuāre, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + tenuāre to make thin or small; see -ate¹

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for extenuated

palliate, minimize, reduce, soften, excuse, qualify, decrease, diminish, downplay, moderate, justify

Examples from the Web for extenuated

Historical Examples of extenuated

She neither denied nor extenuated the crime, and she acknowledged it to have been premeditated.
The Eternal City
Hall Caine
There are things which cannot be extenuated however we may try to palliate them.
The Coming Conquest of England
August Niemann
No defect is extenuated, nor is there any patriotic exaggeration of merits.
The Philippine Islands
Ramon Reyes Lala
Again, you say I not only extenuated the conduct of the obstructionists, but justified it.
Lord Randolph Churchill
Winston Spencer Churchill
Weakened, exhausted, extenuated as he is, how can he endure it?
The Clique of Gold
Emile Gaboriau

British Dictionary definitions for extenuated

extenuate

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
1. to emaciate or weaken
2. to dilute or thin out

Derived Formsextenuating, 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

Word Origin and History for extenuated

extenuate

1520s, from Latin extenuatus, past participle of extenuare "lessen, make small, reduce, diminish," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + tenuare "make thin," from tenuis "thin" (see tenet). Related: Extenuated; extenuating. Extenuating circumstances attested from 1660s.