extenuation

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

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.

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. 2018

"He attacked me like the low ruffian that he is," pleaded Halbert, in extenuation.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
You heard him plead, in extenuation of his fault, his mode of life, his rearing.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
From the British point of view there was much to be said in extenuation of the practice.
Union and Democracy
Allen Johnson
The object of this examination grinned a faint grin of extenuation.
From Place to Place
Irvin S. Cobb
"The las' time, Bettie; the las' time," he said, in extenuation.
Prairie Folks
Hamlin Garland

early 15c., from Latin extenuationem (nominative extenuatio), noun of action from past participle stem of extenuare (see extenuate).