Meanings
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of extenuate
comparative more extenuating · superlative most extenuating
- That attenuates or lessens the seriousness of something, e.g. by providing a mitigating excuse for it.
In the instant case, testimony has been offered that there were extenuating circumstances which might have made it impossible for the Hospital to comply with the time limit (Union office closed on April 4, 1974, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March).
1976, Harry N. Casselman, “Case No. 7”, in Earl R. Baderschneider, Paul F. Miller, editors, Labor Arbitration in Health Care: A Case Book, New York: Spectrum Publications, Inc., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 44
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivepartially excusing or justifying
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle English-ing
- Latinex“to delete, to cross out”
- Englishextenuating
From Latin ex (“to delete, to cross out”) and tenuatus, past participle of tenuare (“to make thin”) + Middle English -ing. By surface analysis, ex- + tenuate + -ing.
More words from Latin, Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch verzachtend
- verzachtendTranslations
French atténuant
- atténuantTranslations
Spanish atenuante, extenuante
- atenuanteTranslations
- extenuanteTranslations
- extenuadorTranslations
Cite this entry
extenuating. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extenuating
“extenuating.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extenuating. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “extenuating,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/extenuating.
Source: extenuating on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.