extenuate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
extenuates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
extenuated,
past participle, past
-
extenuating
present participle
-
to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious.
to extenuate a crime.
-
to serve to make (a fault, offense, etc.) seem less serious.
-
to underestimate, underrate, or make light of.
Do not extenuate the difficulties we are in.
-
Archaic.
-
to make thin, lean, or emaciated.
-
to reduce the consistency or density of.
-
verb
-
to represent (an offence, a fault, etc) as being less serious than it appears, as by showing mitigating circumstances
-
to cause to be or appear less serious; mitigate
-
to underestimate or make light of
-
archaic
-
to emaciate or weaken
-
to dilute or thin out
-
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
extenuationnoun
-
extenuatornoun
-
extenuatingadjective
-
extenuativeadjective
-
extenuatoryadjective
-
nonextenuativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
extenuatesimple
-
extenuatessimple
-
have extenuatedperfect
-
has extenuatedperfect
-
am extenuatingprogressive
-
are extenuatingprogressive
-
is extenuatingprogressive
-
have been extenuatingperfect progressive
-
has been extenuatingperfect progressive
Past
-
extenuatedsimple
-
had extenuatedperfect
-
was extenuatingprogressive
-
were extenuatingprogressive
-
had been extenuatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of extenuate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin extenuātus, past participle of extenuāre, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + tenuāre “to make thin or small”; see origin at thin; see also -ate 1 ( def. )
Explanation
To extenuate is to make less of something or try to minimize its importance. The fact that you walked your little sister to school because she missed the bus might extenuate your teacher's response when you show up late. Extenuate goes back to the Latin verb extenuāre, meaning "to thin" or "make thin." Someone might have a strong case against you for doing something wrong, but an added consideration can make it less serious, or extenuate, the circumstances that led to it. If you give an excuse that doesn't really relate to what was done, it won't extenuate the punishment. If something has a real bearing on what went wrong, it will extenuate the response, and you'll get in less trouble.
Vocabulary lists containing extenuate
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Othello
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Nothing can extenuate the horror of acts he spent his adult life trying to avoid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2022
In my initial salvo, I pointed out that Yglesias had minimized the harm of copyright infringement with a rationale that could extenuate theft of any kind.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2012
Exceptionalism can be a dangerous faith because of how much it can extenuate and excuse.
From Time ● Feb. 4, 2010
Thereupon his onetime guests began to stampede before the Senate committee to explain and extenuate their presence at the 38th Street house.
From Time Magazine Archive
The defense made by the prisioner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
“Prince is painfully removed from the youth culture in which he’s participating, which only extenuates the project’s problems,” it stated.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 18, 2015
It extenuates some things, maybe; but it sets down naught in malice.
From History of Kershaw's Brigade by D. Augustus Dickert
The story is told with a bared realism which the poignancy of the occasion freely extenuates.
From Atlantic Narratives Modern Short Stories by Elizabeth Ashe
But Marcus Aurelius is neither vulgar nor unctuous; he extenuates nothing, but nothing sets down in malice.
From Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius
In all this the author of "The Warden" and "Barchester Towers" nothing extenuates nor puts down aught in malice.
From Confessions of a Book-Lover by Maurice Francis Egan
Hooker’s problems have been particularly extenuated and traumatic, especially for a vaulter who had the skill and composure to set an Olympic record of 19-6½ at the 2008 Beijing Games.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2012
But vices so numerous and great cannot be extenuated.
From Commentary on Genesis, Vol. II Luther on Sin and the Flood by John Nicholas Lenker
No one likes to watch the destruction of their idols, and Joan was hardly pacified by the kisses and loving words with which Denas extenuated her act.
From A Singer from the Sea by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
This, unquestionably, must at first sight appear to be fatal to the theory of his complicity, and the importance of such a fact should not be extenuated.
From What was the Gunpowder Plot? The Traditional Story Tested by Original Evidence by John Gerard
I have not extenuated this act, and I will not defend it.
From The International Spy Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War by Allen Upward
There were, however, extenuating circumstances, in that he was 12th fastest before failing to improve on a messy final lap hindered by a sub-optimal 'prep' lap which left his tyres out of the 'window'.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
There were extenuating circumstances, however, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the Whitecaps to split one season between sequesters in Canada and Portland, Ore., then start the next season quarantined in Utah.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
“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
He wanted to plead his friend’s case, explain the extenuating circumstances.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
