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 year, 2025, has been positioned as the Great Reset — the first period without any asterisks to excuse the industry’s lack of recovery.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2025 -
None of which excuses a failure to search such sagas for good ideas that might be repurposed today.—
Bill Fischer,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Ukraine’s General Staff denied the allegations, saying in a statement Wednesday that Russia’s claims were part of a broader disinformation campaign aimed at justifying continued hostilities.—
Illia Novikov and Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2025
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Investors have to balance whether an investment can be justified on the fundamentals of the asset or if distress itself is just one symptom of larger, more existential issues.—
Arman Harutyunyan,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This gets at a much bigger issue: This production fails to justify or explain why this is a one-person show or what is gained by this choice.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
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New research helps explain why and how horses have an athletic advantage.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
27 Mar. 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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Senior-home avatars who are designed to palliate dementia patients in their darkest days.—
Longreads,
Longreads,
12 Apr. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Extenuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/extenuate. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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