extenuating

adjective

ex·​ten·​u·​at·​ing ik-ˈsten-yə-ˌwā-tiŋ 

-yü-ˌā-

: tending to lessen the real or apparent seriousness of something (such as a crime, offense, or fault) : providing a partial justification or excuse for something

… giving defense attorneys more leeway to fill in the story in the sentencing phase, during which mitigating or extenuating evidence was allowed.

—Joann Wypijewski

—usually used in the phrase extenuating circumstances

Fare waivers are used by airlines to forgive advance-purchase requirements or other price markups when passengers have extenuating circumstances, such as a death in the family or a mistake in ticketing.

—The Wall Street Journal

In the real world, most prosecutors crave to be in private practice, where they would defend the same people whose crimes they claim, as prosecutors, debase society, offering the same extenuating circumstances that are the object of their prosecutorial scorn.

—John Gregory Dunne

Did you know?

Extenuating is almost always used today before "circumstances". Extenuating circumstances are an important concept in the law. If you steal to feed your children, you're naturally less guilty than someone who steals just to get richer; if you kill someone in self-defense, that's obviously an extenuating circumstance that makes your act different from murder. Juries will usually consider extenuating circumstances (even when they're instructed not to), and most judges will listen carefully to an argument about extenuating circumstances as well. And they work outside of the courtroom as well; if you miss your daughter's performance in the middle-school pageant, she may forgive you if it was because you had to race Tigger to the vet's emergency room.

Examples of extenuating in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hinds-Radix and Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom wouldn’t say whether a migrant struggling to find work qualifies as an extenuating circumstance, only telling reporters the city will assess such matters on a case-by-case basis. —Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2024

In four short years, Chang-Fleeman experienced an avalanche of extenuating circumstances that would bring most farm businesses to their knees. —Eliza Milio, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024

The court, however, did not consider that an extenuating circumstance in its ruling. —Joseph Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024

This is especially true if executives feel they are being unfairly blamed for the crisis or if there are extenuating circumstances that have not yet come to light. —Edward Segal, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1633, in the meaning defined above