Showing Results for "extenuating"

See Also:

• present participle of extenuate.

extenuating

American  

[ik-sten-yoo-ey-ting] / ɪkˈstɛn yuˌeɪ tɪŋ /

adjective

1. serving to make a fault, offense, etc., appear less serious.

   The judge gave him a comparatively mild sentence due to extenuating circumstances.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonextenuating
  adjective
• unextenuatingly
  adverb
• extenuatingly
  adverb
• unextenuating
  adjective
• nonextenuatingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of extenuating

First recorded in 1600–10; extenuat(e) + -ing ²

Explanation

You'll be furious that your friend didn't bake the cupcakes she promised for your bake sale — until you learn the extenuating circumstances: her dog climbed onto her kitchen counter and ate all the cupcake batter. Extenuating means "making forgivable." The adjective extenuating is unusual because it's almost always used with the word circumstances; the phrase extenuating circumstances describes the specific reasons that excuse or justify someone's actions. The phrase became popular in the 1840s, and is even used in law to lessen punishment for crimes, but before that extenuating meant "lessening or making small." The Latin word for "thin," tenuis, combined with ex, means "to make thin", or to dilute a person's guilt because of a good excuse.

Example Sentences

The animal welfare charity said the numbers and living conditions of the dogs, discovered at an undisclosed location in the UK, "had rapidly grown out of control amid extenuating family circumstances".

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

Medicare doesn’t cover you for emergency hospital care overseas, except in certain extenuating circumstances where a foreign hospital may be closer than a U.S. one.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

Kasten said the Dodgers and other teams try to accommodate fans with extenuating circumstances.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 27, 2024

“The one thing I can tell you is that everyone that’s ever worked for me has always gotten paid. Obviously, the circumstances here are a little extenuating, but yes, everybody will be paid eventually.”

From Slate • Apr. 18, 2024

“Isn’t it a pity that we didn’t meet under less extenuating circumstances?”

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger