Search the Dictionary

To cover with a mantle or cloak; to cover up; to hide. [Obs.] Being palliated with a pilgrim's coat. Sir T. Herbert.

Having a pallial sinus. See under Sinus.

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

Fig.: To whiten; to give a favorable appearance to; to whitewash; to palliate. Blanch over the blackest and most absurd things. Tillotson.

y, to give a specious appearance to; to cause to appear attractive; to make plausible; to palliate or excuse; as, the facts were colored by his prejudices. He colors the falsehood of Æneas by an express command from Jupiter to forsake the queen. Dryden.

Serving to palliate; palliative. Dunglison.

To lessen; to palliate; to lessen or weaken the force of; to diminish the conception of, as crime, guilt, faults, ills, accusations, etc.; -- opposed to aggravate. But fortune there extenuates the crime. Dryden. Let us extenuate, conceal, adorn the unpleasing reality. I. Taylor.

Tending to extenuate or palliate. Croker.

To give a specious appearance to; to render specious and plausible; to palliate by specious explanation. You have the art to gloss the foulest cause. Philips.

To smooth over; to palliate. By glozing the evil that is in the world. I. Taylor.

To smooth; to soften; to palliate. [Obs.]

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…

The act of palliating, or state of being palliated; extenuation; excuse; as, the palliation of faults, offenses, vices.

Serving to palliate; serving to extenuate or mitigate.

To palliate; to gloze; as, to smooth over a fault.

To palliate; to represent as less enormous; as, to soften a fault.

One who, or that which, sweetens; one who palliates; that which moderates acrimony.

hing that gives a fair appearance; to give a fair coloring to by words; to gloss over; to palliate; as, to varnish guilt. "Beauty doth varnish age." Shak. Close ambition, varnished o'er with zeal. Milton. Cato's voice was ne'er employed To clear the guilty and to varnish crimes. Addison.

One who disguises or palliates; one who gives a fair external appearance. Pope.