Extenuating

adj, verb

adj, verb ·5 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of extenuate form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
  1. 1
    That lessens the seriousness of something by providing an excuse.

    "In the instant case, testimony has been offered that there were extenuating circumstances which might have made it impossible for the Hospital to comply with the time limit (Union office closed on April 4, 1974, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March)."

Adjective
  1. 1
    partially excusing or justifying wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
alteringapologeticassuasiveboundingdiminishingexculpatory

Example

More examples

"Extenuating circumstances led the judge to pass a more lenient sentence."

Etymology

From Latin ex (“to delete, to cross out”) and tenuatus, past participle of tenuare (“to make thin”) + Middle English -ing. By surface analysis, ex- + tenuate + -ing.

Related phrases

extenuating circumstance

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.