Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for extenuate
Verb
  • Cook County Judge Angela Petrone ordered the juror, who appeared to recover, excused and subbed in one of the alternates.
    Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2025
  • Without excusing Weinstein’s thuggish qualities for a second, Evans was never the physical caricature of the studio exec.
    John Tamny, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Verb
  • This tactic is sometimes used to justify letting an employee go under the guise of poor performance.
    Sho Dewan, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
  • By confusing the idea that the people’s will must prevail with what the law actually says, these leaders justify intimidating judges and their sound legal rulings, a move that ultimately undermines democracy.
    Michael Gregory, The Conversation, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • But in the late 19th century, Finkelstein explained, women who'd worked as nurses during the Civil War, even though not part of the Union or Confederate armies, lobbied for and won the right to be buried at Arlington.
    Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 27 May 2025
  • Earlier, his ruling-party ally, Gov. Freddy Bernal, explained the apparent low turnout similarly.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 May 2025
Verb
  • Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.
    Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2024
  • Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.
    Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 1 Oct. 2024
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

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Extenuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuate. Accessed 30 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on extenuate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!