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
Verb
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None of that, however, excuses the silly and juvenile behavior of the Assembly’s majority Democrats last week when the chamber took up a resolution commemorating Pride month.—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
3 July 2025 -
Students who cannot get to school and have bus stops are on a list provided by district officials can get absences excused Thursday and Friday.—
Killian Baarlaer,
The Courier-Journal,
2 July 2025
Verb
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In our opinion, this favorable trend justifies an upward revision of its valuation multiple.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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In recent weeks, the Trump administration has used constitutional maneuvers invented to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act to justify using troops to round up immigrants.—
Sonja Sharp,
Los Angeles Times,
28 June 2025
Verb
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Brad Kirner, director of destination development at Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, explained in the email interview that with tourism making up around 70% of the Cook Islands’ GDP, the border closure due to COVID-19 essentially froze the economy overnight.—
Emese Maczko,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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This sterile male technique, previously explained to Newsweek by Texas A&M Professor Phillip Kaufman, works because female screwworm flies mate only once—flooding areas with sterile males prevents successful reproduction.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 July 2025
Verb
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Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
1 Oct. 2024
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Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
1 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Extenuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuate. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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