extenuate

 
Pronunciation: /ɪkˈstɛnjʊeɪt, ɛk-/

verb

[with object]
  • 1 (as adjective extenuating) (of a factor or situation) acting in mitigation to lessen the seriousness of guilt or an offence: hunger and poverty are not treated by the courts as extenuating circumstances
  • 2 (usually as adjective extenuated) literary make (someone) thin: drawings of extenuated figures

Derivatives

extenuation

Pronunciation: /-ˈeɪʃ(ə)n/
noun

extenuatory

Pronunciation: /-jʊət(ə)ri/
adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense 'make thin'): from Latin extenuat- 'made thin', from the verb extenuare (based on tenuis 'thin')