Search the Dictionary

to lessen the thickness. His body behind the head becomes broad, from whence it is again extenuated all the way to the tail. Grew.

he scene. Prescott. The defense made by the prisioner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime. Addison.

To extenuate; to palliate. [R.] He alleviates his fault by an excuse. Johnson.

That which excuses; that which extenuates or justifies a fault. "It hath the excuse of youth." Shak. If eyes were made for seeing. Then beauty is its own excuse for being. Emerson.

The act of axtenuating or the state of being extenuated; the act of making thin, slender, or lean, or of palliating; diminishing, or lessening; palliation, as of a crime; mitigation, as of punishment. To listen . . . to every extenuation of what is evil. I. Taylor.

One who extenuates.

Tending to extenuate or palliate. Croker.

Done beforehand; anticipative. And so extenuate the forehand sin. Shak.

To suppress or weaken the force of; to extenuate; to palliate; to tell by degrees, instead of directly and frankly; to clip, as words or expressions; to utter half and keep back half of. I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say -- "I love you." Shak. Siren, now mince the sin, And mollify damnation with a…

To cover with excuses; to conceal the enormity of, by excuses and apologies; to extenuate; as, to palliate faults. They never hide or palliate their vices. Swift.

Serving to palliate; serving to extenuate or mitigate.

bound; to confine; to restrain; to restrict to a scant allowance. I shall not go about to extenuate the latitude of the curse upon the earth, or stint it only to the production of weeds. Woodward. She stints them in their meals. Law.