extenuate

(ĭk-stĕn'yū-āt')
tr.v., -at·ed, -at·ing, -ates.

1. To lessen or attempt to lessen the magnitude or seriousness of, especially by providing partial excuses. See synonyms at palliate.
2. Archaic.
   1. To make thin or emaciated.
   2. To reduce the strength of.
3. Obsolete. To belittle; disparage.

[Latin extenuāre, extenuāt- : ex-, ex- + tenuāre, to make thin (from tenuis, thin).]

extenuative ex·ten'u·a'tive adj. & n.
extenuator ex·ten'u·a'tor n.
extenuatory ex·ten'u·a·to'ry (-ə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj.

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means 'to lessen or reduce the seriousness of (guilt or an offence)' and usually occurs in the participial form extenuating:

Poverty and desperation are extenuating factors in Bangladesh, but not in the United States—New Yorker, 1973

The law itself, framed as it is in terms of strict liability, is not concerned with any niceties which might be provoked by extenuating circumstances—K. Hawkins, 1993.

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verb

1. To conceal or make light of a fault or offense: explain away, gloss over, gloze (over), palliate, sleek over, whitewash. See show/hide.
2. To make physically thin or thinner: slim, thin. See fat/thin, increase/decrease.

v

Definition: excuse
Antonyms: aggravate

IN BRIEF: To lessen the seriousness of by using partial excuses.

We do not live to extenuate the miseries of the past nor to accept as incurable those of the present. — Fairfield Osborn (1887-1969).

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v

To lessen; to mitigate.

See words rhyming with "extenuate."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Extenuate.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - undskylde

Nederlands (Dutch)
verzachten, verzwakken

Français (French)
v. tr. - atténuer

Deutsch (German)
v. - beschönigen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - μετριάζω (τη σοβαρότητα κ.λπ.), ελαφρύνω (τη θέση κ.λπ.), δικαιολογώ κάπως, βρίσκω ελαφρυντικά

Italiano (Italian)
alleviare, estenuare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - atenuar

Русский (Russian)
смягчать, служить оправданием, преуменьшать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - atenuar, disminuir, enflaquecer

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förringa, minska, överskyla

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
掩饰, 使人原谅, 减轻

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 掩飾, 使人原諒, 減輕

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 정상을 참작하다, 희박하게 하다, 변명하다, 얕보다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 軽くする, 言い訳になる, 情状酌量する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يخفف, يلطف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הפחית, הקל, ריכך (אשמה)‬

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