Extenuate

Definition: Extenuate

Extenuate

Verb

1. Lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "extenuate" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1593. (references)

Synonyms: Extenuate

Nonincrease, Decrease

Bate, abate, discount; depreciate; extenuate, lower, weaken, attenuate, fritter away; mitigate; (moderate); dwarf, throw into the shade; reduce; shorten; subtract. Adjective: unincreased; (see increase;); decreased; Verb: decreasing; Verb: on the wane; n.

Vindication

Extenuate, palliate, excuse, soften, apologize, varnish, slur, gloze; put a gloss, put a good face upon; mince; gloss over, bolster up, help a lame dog over a stile.

Weakness

Render weak; Adjective: weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, shake, deprive of strength, relax, enervate, eviscerate; unbrace, unnerve; cripple, unman; (render powerless); cramp, reduce, sprain, strain, blunt the edge of; dilute, impoverish; decimate; extenuate; reduce in strength, reduce the strength of; mettre de l'eau dans son vin.

Crosswords: Extenuate

I pray you, in your letters; when you shall these unlucky deeds relate, speak of them as they are. Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice (Othello; writing credit: William Shakespeare)

Albanian

zbut (allay, amortise, amortize, appease, assuage, attenuate, break, calm, chasten, commute, daunt, disarm, ease, malaxate, manage, melt, mince, mitigate, moderate, modify, mollify, palatalize, palliate, propitiate, qualify, reclaim, relax, relieve, smooth, soften, soothe, subdue, tame, temper, tenderize, tone down), lehtësoj (allay, alleviate, assuage, attenuate, calm, dull, enable, facilitate, lighten, mitigate, palliate, relax, release, relieve, shake, soften, solace, soothe), justifikoj (defend, exculpate, excuse, justify, not fail to, warrant). (various references)

Arabic 

‏هزل (attenuate, badinage, emaciate, fun, humor, humour, joke, languish, peak, pine, pine away, playfulness, pleasantry, reduce, slim, thin), ‏لطف (affableness, allay, alleviate, amenity, amiability, appease, assuage, attemper, attenuate, benignity, civility, courtesy, ease, friendliness, geniality, gentleness, kindness, lighten, mildness, mitigate, moderate, modify, mollify, palliate, politeness, qualify, quell, relax, relieve, smooth, soften, softness, soothe, suavity, sweeten, temper, tone down, urbanity), ‏وهن (asthenia, attenuate, attenuation, damp, dampen, debilitate, debility, decay, discouragement, distemper, droop, enervate, enfeeble, feebleness, imitators, infirmity, invalidate, languish, languishment, languor, pall, relax, sap, shrivel, sickliness, thin, weak spot, weaken, weaklings), ‏ساعد على التلطيف, ‏خفف (alleviate, attemper, attenuate, deaden, ease off, gloss over the facts, lessen, mitigate, modify, muffle, palliate, qualify, relax, relent, relieve, remit, slack, slake, slim, solace, subdue, succor, succour, thin, water down). (various references)

Bulgarian 

смекчавам (break down, chastise, correct, cushion, humanize, lighten, melt, mince, mitigate, moderate, modify, mollify, palliate, qualify, quiet, retouch, season, smooth out, soften, subdue, tame, temper, turn, water down), омаловажавам (belittle, decry, denigrate, discount, disparage, enfeeble, make little of, minify, minimize, palliate, play down, stultify, talk down, understate, whittle away), намалявам (abate, abbreviate, allay, attenuate, bring down, clip, contract, curtail, cut back, cut down, decline, decrease, deduct, deflate, degrade, deplete, detract, dim, diminish, ebb, fine, impair, knock off, lessen, lighten, lull, minify, minimize, moderate, modify, pare down, prejudice, put back, put down, reduce, remit, run down, scant, shorten, shrink, sink, slacken, subdue, take from, thin, thin away, thin down, understate, wane, work down). (various references)

Czech

zmírnit (allay, alleviate, break, cushion, deaden, defuse, dilute, ease, loosen, mitigate, palliate, relieve, remit, slacken, smooth, soften, soothe, subdue, temper, tone down, understate). (various references)

Farsi 

نازک کردن (Attenuate, Thin), کم کردن (Alleviate, Bate, Cut, Deduce, Deduct, Detract, Drawoff, Rebate, Reduce, Relax, Retrench, Shade, Soften, Subtract, Thin, Weaken), کم تقصیرقلمدادکردن , کم ارزش قلمدادکردن , کوچک کردن (Abject, Fine, Playdown), کاستن از (Lower), تخفیف دادن (Abate, Alight, Assuage, Bate, Discount, Lower, Mitigate, Relieve), رقیق کردن (Attenuate, Dilute, Thin). (various references)

French

exténuons, exténuez, exténuer (exhaust), exténuent, atténuer. (various references)

German

entschuldigen (excuse, apologize, pardon, to excuse), verringern (abate, allay, decrease, to reduce), mindern (debase, depreciate, detract from, diminish, erode, lessen, Mar, reduce), dämpfen (damp, mute), beschönigen (palliate), abschwächen (attenuate, weaken). (various references)

Greek 

μετριάζω (moderate, temper, tone down), ελαφρύνω (attenuate, deplete, ease). (various references)

Hebrew 

להקל (ease, facilitate, mitigate, moderate, palliate, relieve, remit, slight). (various references)

Hungarian

keskeny (Strait, narrow), híg (dilute, liquid, thin). (various references)

Indonesian

memperingan. (various references)

Italian

scusare (apologize, excuse), attenuare (attenuate), annacquare (dilute). (various references)

Manx

jannoo leshtallagh. (various references)

Norwegian

unnskylde (excuse), mildne. (various references)

Pig Latin

extenuateay.(various references)

Portuguese

extenuar (do in, overdrive, tire), enfraquecer (abate, attenuate, decay, diminish, enervate, fade, fail, faint, flag, flatten, impair, impoverish, jade, languish, peak, pine, rust, sap, slacken, undermine, waste, weaken), minorar, diminuir (reduce), abrandar (soften). (various references)

Romanian

slãbi (abate, attenuate, Bate, crock, debilitate, depauperate, diminish, drain, droop, dull, ease, emaciate, emasculate, enfeeble, fade, fail, flag, go down, grow weak, impair, languish, let, loosen, lose flesh, lose weight, macerate, mine, peak and pine, pinch, pull down, reduce, relax, sap, sink, slack, slacken, slenderize, slim, soften, subdue, subside, take the edge off, thin, undermine, weaken), reduce (abate, abridge, ax, axe, bear down, bring, cancel out, contract, curtail, cut, decrease, derogate, detract, diminish, discount, draw in, drop, fine down, knock down, knock off, lessen, lower, make good, narrow down, pare down, prune, recover, reduce, retrench, slacken, stint, stop, unbend, weaken), atenua (abate, alleviate, attenuate, dilute, diminish, dull, gloze, mellow, reduce, soften, subdue, subjugate, tone down, water down). (various references)

Russian 

смягчать (assuage, mitigate, mollify, palatalize, soften). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

umanjiti (attenuate, cut back, decrease, detract, diminish, make a hole in, minify, minimize, reduce, turn down), olakšati (alleviate, facilitate, relieve). (various references)

Spanish

atenuar (attenuate). (various references)

Swedish

förringa (belittle). (various references)

Turkish

mazur göstermek (blanch over, excuse, legitimate, legitimatize, legitimize, palliate, warrant), hafifletmek (allay, alleviate, appease, assuage, attenuate, commute, deaden, de-escalate, ease, emasculate, facilitate, lighten, mitigate, moderate, modify, palliate, qualify, relieve, remit, soft pedal, subdue, water, weaken), hafife almak (consider unimportant, coquet, disdain, piddle, slight, soft pedal, trifle, trifle with, underestimate, undervalue), ciddiye almamak (not to take seriously, palter). (various references)

Ukrainian

ослабляти (abate, allay, attenuate, deaden, debilitate, depress, emasculate, enfeeble, impair, infirm, let down, loosen, lower, overcome, relax, slack, slacken, subdue, unbind, water, weaken), зменшувати (abate, allay, alleviate, ax, axe, belittle, cut back, decrease, detract, diminish, dwindle, lessen, minify, palliate, relax, slacken, turn down, whittle away). (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "extenuate": extenuated, extenuates. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Extenuate" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: estenuate, exaequata, exrenuate, extentuate, octanoate. (additional references)

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-3 letters: attune, exeunt, extant, extent, nutate, tauten.

-4 letters: eaten, enate, taunt, tenet, tutee.

-5 letters: ante, aunt, eaux, etna, neat, nett, next, tate, taut, teat, teen, tent, text, tuna, tune.

+1 letter: extenuated, extenuates.

+3 letters: extrauterine.