top definitions
quizzes
related content
examples
explore dictionary

extenuation

[ ik-sten-yoo-ey-shuh n ]

/ ɪkˌstɛn yuˈeɪ ʃən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR extenuation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of extenuating.

the state of being extenuated.

something that extenuates; a partial excuse: The youth of the defendant served as an extenuation.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!

Question 1 of 7

anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of extenuation

1375–1425; late Middle English extenuacioun < Latin extenuātiōn- (stem of extenuātiō). See extenuate, -ion

Words nearby extenuation

extent, extenuate, extenuating, extenuating circumstance, extenuating circumstances, extenuation, extenuatory, exterior, exterior angle, exteriority, exteriorize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for extenuation

In extenuation of this summary attempt I hasten to explain that its chief merit is its lack of originality.
In Morocco|Edith Wharton
In every respect they were so evenly matched that the test of battle could have no aftermath of extenuation.
The Fight for a Free Sea: A Chronicle of the War of 1812|Ralph D. Paine
In extenuation I urge that he was a very weary, sick old man.
The Amenities of Book-Collecting and Kindred Affections|A. Edward Newton
I, too, have left my post of duty—but let the result be an extenuation of my desertion.
By Force of Impulse|Harry V. Vogt

He does not seem to have had even a fondness for fruit to plead in extenuation of his larceny.
Notes and Queries, No. 179. Saturday, April 2, 1853.|Various

Emoji Challenge! Test Yourself!