Showing results for "extenuating"

• present participle of extenuate.

extenuating

American  

[ik-sten-yoo-ey-ting] / ɪkˈstɛn juˌeɪ 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

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

See Examples For:

extenuating

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

“The bottom line is: If consumers have jobs, barring extenuating circumstances, they will continue to spend money and pay their bills.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025

“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

When it happens for other people, because I know it does sometimes, there’s probably a lot of extenuating circumstances happening behind the scenes.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2024

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

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger