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 justifies using the average premium SVOD churn rate, even though Paramount+ has traditionally fallen short of it.—
Andrew Root,
Sportico.com,
27 Feb. 2026 -
The constraint, Dolci says, is not audience demand – the performance of existing screens more than justifies expansion – but the availability of suitable sites.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Lost Lambs features an all-white cast in an anonymous American suburb, which excuses Cash from having to engage head-on with race.—
Malavika Kannan,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
-
In professional sports, excuses age quickly.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The skeeter strategy Zheng explains that the challenge with the approach was how to vaccinate the bats.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Perhaps that’s why the filmmaker never explains the reason his parents left.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
13 Mar. 2026
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 15 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
