Extenuation

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Extenuation \Ex*ten`u*a"tion\, n. [L. extenuatio: cf. F.
     ext['e]nuation.]
     The act of axtenuating or the state of being extenuated; the
     act of making thin, slender, or lean, or of palliating;
     diminishing, or lessening; palliation, as of a crime;
     mitigation, as of punishment.


     [1913 Webster]
  
           To listen . . . to every extenuation of what is evil.
                                                    --I. Taylor.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  extenuation
       n 1: a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to
            represent an offense as less serious than it appears by
            showing mitigating circumstances [syn: {mitigation}]
       2: to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less
          serious [syn: {mitigation}, {palliation}]