extenuating
adjective/ɪkˈstenjueɪtɪŋ/
/ɪkˈstenjueɪtɪŋ/
[only before noun] (formal)- showing reasons why a wrong or illegal act, or a bad situation, should be judged less seriously or excused
- There were extenuating circumstances and the defendant did not receive a prison sentence.
- Cases of illness and other extenuating circumstances that may have affected a student’s performance will be dealt with by a personal tutor.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryExtenuating is used with these nouns:- circumstance
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘make thin’): from Latin extenuat- ‘made thin’, from the verb extenuare (based on tenuis ‘thin’) + -ing.Definitions on the go
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extenuating