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
  • Everyone was happy to see Tim Ream excused his yellow card and Miguel Almiron cautioned for diving, including me.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • The 49ers’ secondary struggled to make plays last season, and while an anemic pass rush didn’t help, that can’t excuse a lack of production.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 21 July 2026
Definition of excuse
Verb
  • There was contact across the Mexican’s face, but nowhere near enough to justify a red card for violent conduct.
    — Graham Scott, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • The district attorney did not file charges against police in that incident, determining the officer was justified.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 July 2026
Definition of justify
Verb
  • The enterprise fund is generated from airport user fees, such as airline terminal rents, aircraft landing fees, parking revenues and rental car customer facility charges, Johnson explained.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 27 July 2026
  • Indefinite Causal Order Quantum systems often display behaviors that are difficult to explain with classical physics.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 27 July 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 28 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of extenuate for Spanish Speakers

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