extenuation Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances
    mitigation.
  2. noun to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious
    mitigation; palliation.

WordNet

Ex*ten`u*a"tion noun
Etymology
L. extenuatio: cf. F. exténuation.
Definitions
  1. 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.
    To listen . . . to every extenuation of what is evil. I. Taylor.

Webster 1913