as in excusing
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of extenuating
Stats courtesy of Pro-Football Reference There were some extenuating circumstances, the most important being that Burrow did not previously play in the preseason.
—
Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Several more are under elevated pressure due to extenuating circumstances, which are outlined below and unique to each coach and his campus.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
This week on Prime Video’s Countdown, personally extenuating circumstances led LAPD gangs and narcotics officer Lucas Finau to break protocol and exhibit atypically audacious behavior — all during a critical juncture in Hurricane Task Force’s ongoing manhunt.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 10 Aug. 2025
There would be exclusions for communities facing low demand, economic distress, natural disasters and other extenuating circumstances.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extenuating
Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Several more are under elevated pressure due to extenuating circumstances, which are outlined below and unique to each coach and his campus.
—Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2025
This week on Prime Video’s Countdown, personally extenuating circumstances led LAPD gangs and narcotics officer Lucas Finau to break protocol and exhibit atypically audacious behavior — all during a critical juncture in Hurricane Task Force’s ongoing manhunt.
—Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 10 Aug. 2025
There would be exclusions for communities facing low demand, economic distress, natural disasters and other extenuating circumstances.
—Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for extenuating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extenuating
Verb
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Some Republicans and Democrats criticized Vance’s response for excusing or downplaying the nature of the chat messages.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
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Celebrating or excusing violence is abhorrent.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For now, Yamamoto is on top of the world, justifying every dollar of the $325 million investment the Dodgers made in him.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
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Giuffre takes an interest in Epstein’s own self-justifying attitude toward his crimes.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The sheriff rebutted these calls by explaining that due to the executive order signed by Braun in January and related directives from Attorney General Todd Rokita, he was forced to comply with federal immigration efforts.—
Noe Padilla,
IndyStar,
31 Oct. 2025
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And politicians often use them as a way of explaining why things are going in a wrong direction, instead of taking responsibility for whatever goes wrong, or simply to raise fear.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extenuating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuating. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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