Thesaurus results for EXTENUATE

extenuate

verb

ik-ˈsten-yə-ˌwāt

Definition of extenuate

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"

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Verb

The appeal asked that the court either excuse the juror who was allegedly refusing to follow instructions or inquire further to determine whether the juror could in fact follow the judge's instructions to correctly apply the law.

— Carmel Wroth, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of excuse

Verb

On price hikes, analysts think that Apple needs to increase prices by as much as $100 in order to preserve profit margins and that the company's brand can justify this change in the eyes of customers.

— Tobias Burns, CNBC, 9 Sep. 2026
The latest proposal cites legal decisions and policies to justify the various changes.

— Bart Jansen, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of justify

Verb

The woman who had compiled the Handy Hints book helpfully explained these technical details to Flynn, whispering in his ear like someone translating a foreign language.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026
Instead of explaining why something happened after the fact, the organization helps the customer stay ahead of it.

— Suresh Rajapakse, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of explain

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.

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extents

extenuate

extenuated

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“Extenuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuate. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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