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extenuating circumstance

American  

noun

Law.
  1. Usually extenuating circumstances a circumstance that renders conduct less serious and thereby serves to reduce the damages to be awarded or the punishment to be imposed.


Etymology

Origin of extenuating circumstance

First recorded in 1830–40

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.

See Examples For:

No matter the situation, the season, the holiday, the extenuating circumstance — there was always tuna.

From Salon Dec. 18, 2022

“There must be some extenuating circumstance that they felt the urgency to arrest him then instead of waiting, if there was some risk factor, an escape risk or something like that,” Hahn said.

From Seattle Times Sep. 8, 2022

That’s the steepest increase since 1991, but the reopening of the economy is a major extenuating circumstance that prompts some to dismiss inflation risk.

From New York Times Jul. 9, 2021

Only students facing extenuating circumstance will be allowed to live in campus housing.

From Washington Times Oct. 10, 2020

He admitted it, though apologetically and with every extenuating circumstance which he could remember.

From Casa Braccio, Volumes 1 and 2 by Castaigne, J. André

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