extenuate
verb (used with object)
to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious.
extenuated
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past participleof extenuate.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof extenuate.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
extenuateverb (used with object)to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hooker’s problems have been particularly extenuated and traumatic, especially for a vaulter who had the skill and composure to set an Olympic record of 19-6½ at the 2008 Beijing Games.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2012
But vices so numerous and great cannot be extenuated.
From Commentary on Genesis, Vol. II Luther on Sin and the Flood by John Nicholas Lenker
Despite her brother's harshness, Rose, with devoted sisterly affection, extenuated Harold's conduct, and it was very beautiful to witness her womanly tenderness and forbearance.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. 22, March, 1852, Volume 4. by
This, unquestionably, must at first sight appear to be fatal to the theory of his complicity, and the importance of such a fact should not be extenuated.
From What was the Gunpowder Plot? The Traditional Story Tested by Original Evidence by John Gerard
His vanity and love of display are conspicuous, but are extenuated by a genuine thirst for knowledge and a surprising versatility of attainments.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various
