yuˌeɪt verb (used with object), ex·ten·u·at·ed, ex·ten·u·at·ing.
1.
to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious: to extenuate a crime.
2.
to serve to make (a fault, offense, etc.) seem less serious.
3.
to underestimate, underrate, or make light of: Do not extenuate the difficulties we are in.
4.
Archaic.
a.
to make thin, lean, or emaciated.
b.
to reduce the consistency or density of.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To extenuative
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Extenuative
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
extenuate (ɪkˈstɛnjʊˌeɪt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to represent (an offence, a fault, etc) as being less serious than it appears, as by showing mitigating circumstances |
| 2. | to cause to be or appear less serious; mitigate |
| 3. | to underestimate or make light of |
| 4. | archaic |
| a. to emaciate or weaken | |
| b. to dilute or thin out | |
| [C16: from Latin extenuāre to make thin, from tenuis thin, frail] | |
| ex'tenuating | |
| —adj | |
| extenu'ation | |
| —n | |
| ex'tenuator | |
| —n | |
| ex'tenuatory | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
extenuate
1520s, from L. extenuat-, pp. stem of extenuare "lessen," from ex- "out" + tenuare "make thin," from tenuis "thin" (see tenet). Related: Extenuated; extenuating; extenuation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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