as in justifies
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
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extenuates
Verb
-
This year's installer icon is one of the ones that finally justifies years' worth of effort spent tracking and talking about the changes in macOS installer icons.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025 -
Throughout, in interviews with Costa, Malafaia justifies his political aspiration with Biblical parables.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When Glenna excuses herself to go check on Lady Ellen, Julia thanks the woman and then proceeds to sneakily follow her straight up to Ellen’s quarters.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In the sketch, Bargatze plays George Washington and explains the confusing nature of modern-day America.—
Rosa Escandon,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Whereas previous metal pollution records extracted their silt, or evidence from areas far from their sources— upland peat cores or mountain and polar glaciers, Cambridge specifies –the most recent data comes from the epicenter of production, a paleochannel of the River Ure, Cambridge explains.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Extenuates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuates. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share