extenuate

Nothing can extenuate the horror of acts he spent his adult life trying to avoid.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2022

In my initial salvo, I pointed out that Yglesias had minimized the harm of copyright infringement with a rationale that could extenuate theft of any kind.

From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2012

Exceptionalism can be a dangerous faith because of how much it can extenuate and excuse.

From Time ● Feb. 4, 2010

Seemingly the rash students were bent upon egging Prime Minister Velja Vukitchevitch of Jugoslavia into a suicidal war with Italy; but circumstances were not lacking to extenuate their folly.

From Time Magazine Archive

But now it will be objected, that I patronise vice by the authority of former poets, and extenuate my own faults by recrimination.

From Dryden's Works Vol. 3 (of 18) Sir Martin Mar-All; The Tempest; An Evening's Love; Tyrannic Love by John Dryden

“Prince is painfully removed from the youth culture in which he’s participating, which only extenuates the project’s problems,” it stated.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 18, 2015

But Marcus Aurelius is neither vulgar nor unctuous; he extenuates nothing, but nothing sets down in malice.

From Meditations by Emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius

It extenuates some things, maybe; but it sets down naught in malice.

From History of Kershaw's Brigade by D. Augustus Dickert

Thus to persist In doing wrong, extenuates not wrong, But makes it much more so.

From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 06 by Sir Walter Scott

This act of disobedience differs from the others in one particular which, in the opinion of your Committee, rather aggravates than extenuates the offence.

From The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. 08 (of 12) by Edmund Burke

Hooker’s problems have been particularly extenuated and traumatic, especially for a vaulter who had the skill and composure to set an Olympic record of 19-6½ at the 2008 Beijing Games.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2012

In this quarter the arms of China were not disgraced by any excesses, and moderation towards the unarmed population extenuated their severity towards armed foes.

From The Life of Yakoob Beg Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar by Demetrius Charles Boulger

I have not extenuated his faults, to the best of my knowledge.

From A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield by John Charles Ryle

"It is only that, with all your Gift, Henry can't understand how you need anything else," she extenuated.

From A Woman of Genius by Mary Hunter Austin

The profuse decoration underneath the bracket capital in the palace of Xerxes and elsewhere, serves no structural function, but gives some variety to the extenuated shaft.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 "Capefigue" to "Carneades" by Various

There were, however, extenuating circumstances, in that he was 12th fastest before failing to improve on a messy final lap hindered by a sub-optimal 'prep' lap which left his tyres out of the 'window'.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

“The bottom line is: If consumers have jobs, barring extenuating circumstances, they will continue to spend money and pay their bills.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025

After the public backlash, Taiwan announced additional exemptions for individuals with extenuating circumstances such as financial hardship, medical needs or safety concerns about traveling to China to search for records.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2025

“The one thing I can tell you is that everyone that’s ever worked for me has always gotten paid. Obviously, the circumstances here are a little extenuating, but yes, everybody will be paid eventually.”

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2024

He wanted to plead his friend’s case, explain the extenuating circumstances.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover