extenuate
verb (used with object)
to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious.
extenuates
-
present tense formof extenuate (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
“Prince is painfully removed from the youth culture in which he’s participating, which only extenuates the project’s problems,” it stated.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 18, 2015
Thus to persist In doing wrong extenuates not wrong, But makes it much more heavy.
From Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare
In all this the author of "The Warden" and "Barchester Towers" nothing extenuates nor puts down aught in malice.
From Confessions of a Book-Lover by Maurice Francis Egan
It does not exactly prevent sin; it extenuates instead the painful consequences.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI by Robert Louis Stevenson
Now compares Their different forms; now blends them, now divides, Enlarges and extenuates by turns; Opposes, ranges in fantastic bands, And infinitely varies.
From Poetical Works of Akenside by George Gilfillan
