as in to excuse
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
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for extenuate
Verb
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This creates a tension between excusing and exempting abuse.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025 -
But for her, the speculation doesn’t excuse what came next.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
29 May 2025
Verb
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But as cloud spend goes up, the need to justify cost efforts and demonstrate cost avoidance to execs will increase.—
Adrian Bridgwater,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
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His breezy accounts betray no anxiety to justify the expense of sending him around the world.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2025
Verb
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That pride helps explain why fighting bulls eat so well.—
Chang W. Lee,
New York Times,
7 June 2025
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Nivola in Lochlan’s season-ending near-death experience and Koch in a one-take episode in which Erik explains to his attorney the abuse within the Menendez household.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
1 Oct. 2024
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Radiation can also be used to palliate painful bone metastases, as well as chemotherapy.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
1 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Extenuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuate. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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