extenuation

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

the act of extenuating.

the state of being extenuated.

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

Origin of extenuation

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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