Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Extenuation

//ɪksˌtɛnjʊˈeɪʃən// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; The action or process of making or becoming thin; an instance of this; a shrunken condition; leanness, emaciation. countable, uncountable

    "This mightily helpeth the extenuation of members."

  2. 2
    to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious wordnet
  3. 3
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; Making less dense; rarefaction. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "Winds proceed from extenuation of the Air, by the Sun."

  4. 4
    a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances wordnet
  5. 5
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; The action or process of making slender or diminishing in bulk; an instance of this. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "All Dilatation is some degree of Extenuation."

Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; The action of making less or weak; and instance of this; a weakening, impoverishment. Also, mitigation (of blame or punishment). countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "The saide citie is much decaid…not a little to the extenuacion of that part of this realme."

  2. 7
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; The action of representing (something) as slight and trifling; underrating; an instance of this, a plea to this end; a modification in terms. countable, uncountable

    "Sometimes…wee humble ourselves lower than there is cause…And no lesse well doth God take these submisse extenuations of our selves."

  3. 8
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; The action of representing (something) as slight and trifling; underrating; an instance of this, a plea to this end; a modification in terms.; A figure in which a term is used which, in contrast with the more fitting term it supplants, understates or seeks to diminish the significance of something. countable, obsolete, rhetoric, uncountable

    "We call him the Disabler or figure of Extenuation."

  4. 9
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; The action of lessening, or seeking to lessen, the guilt of (an offence or fault) by alleging partial excuses; and instance or means of doing this; a plea in mitigation of censure. countable, uncountable

    "Extenuation, by which the Crime, that seemed great, is made lesse."

  5. 10
    The action of extenuating; extenuated condition.; Thin garments. US, countable, humorous, in-plural, uncountable

    "They were clad in silken extenuations from the throat to the feet."

Etymology

An adaptation of extenuātiōn-, the oblique stem of the Latin extenuātiō (“a thinning or diminishing”, “rarefaction”; rhetoric “a lessening”, “diminution”, “extenuation”), noun of action from extenuō (“I thin, reduce, or diminish”). Equivalent to extenuate + -ion. Compare the French exténuation.

See also for "extenuation"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: extenuation