as in confession
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of extenuation
Not surprisingly, fellow-travelers on the left criticized Conquest either from a wish to disbelieve the Soviet horrors or from an ideological sympathy that compelled extenuation of them.
—
Peter J. Travers, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022
Peter J. Travers, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extenuation
Noun
-
From revelatory confessions to magnetic eye contact, Venus in Scorpio does not do casual, not even close.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The major evidence for the former is a letter written by one of Marlowe’s enemies, along with a confession by the playwright Thomas Kyd that was made under torture.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The move is one of the county’s most forceful acknowledgements that a lack of access to affordable, nutritious food is a systemic crisis.—
April Quevedo,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Why no mumblings of atonement for the predatory nature of capitalism itself, its core values and standard operating procedures no different from those of the beasts in the field?—
Henry Freedland,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The incident, being investigated as a terrorist attack, took place on Yom Kippur, the Jewish calendar’s day of atonement and fasting.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
At the end of the third, though, Rizzi earned vindication.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Burkhart felt a sense of triumph—and even vindication—at the results.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
To be fair, public entities have been stretching public records trade secret exceptions to logical extremes long before college athletes started getting paid—and these carve-outs are often intended to be permissive.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
This set things up for another memorable one-out home run in the ninth inning by Miguel Rojas.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Tangem’s public rationale is user demand and interoperability.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
While the questions at times seemed to challenge the rationale for the tariffs, the arguments are still ongoing, and further questioning could shed additional light on their positions.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In the month since trading Parsons, Jones has offered a steady stream of rationalizations, some of which sound more plausible than others.—
Michael Silver,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Ideological stances often come after political ones, essentially post-facto rationalizations.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
To say nothing about the thorny question of its genre—do Eastern European writers need to provide more explanations and justifications when using the technique of autofiction?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Parise questioned the government’s financial justification for its operation in Old Irving Park, which yielded one arrest of an undocumented immigrant but had far-reaching effects on children and other residents.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Extenuation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuation. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share