extenuate

verb

ik-ˈsten-yə-ˌwāt How to pronounce extenuate (audio)
Definition of extenuatenext
as in to excuse
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses don't even try to extenuate their vandalism of the cemetery with the old refrain of "Boys will be boys"

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for extenuate
  1. excuse
  2. justify
  3. explain
  4. palliate
Verb
  • The jury requested to be excused for the day hours after telling Judge William Sullivan that it was deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous decision.
    — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2026
  • As Korean growth picks up, President Lee Jae Myung could be excused for thinking his job as an economic reformer is done.
    — William Pesek, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of excuse
Verb
  • Long-term resource potential Technical performance alone cannot justify a project; economic balance governs actual field deployment.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The prosecution and defense both gave closing arguments Tuesday during the second preliminary hearing since July, which is a limited purpose proceeding held for a judge to determine whether the charges are justified.
    — Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of justify
Verb
  • One of the questions, directed to David Hunt, director of finance for Entergy Arkansas, asks him to explain the reasoning for the classification of the payments.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Bernadette explains the racial nuances the Guardians might not know as newcomers to Earth, echoing the landmark 1971 Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic series, which attempts to bring the space cops down to Earth by exposing them to racial strife.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of explain
Verb
  • Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.
    — Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2024
  • Senior-home avatars who are designed to palliate dementia patients in their darkest days.
    — Longreads, Longreads, 12 Apr. 2024
Definition of palliate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

extents
extenuate
extenuated
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Cite this Entry

“Extenuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuate. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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