Extenuate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Extenuated(); p. pr. & vb. n. Extenuating().]
Etymology: [L. extenuatus, p. p. of extenuare to make thin, loosen, weaken; ex out + tenuare to make thin, tenuis thin. See Tenuity.]
1. To make thin or slender; to draw out so as to lessen the thickness. His body behind the head becomes broad, from whence it is again extenuated all the way to the tail. Grew.
2. To lessen; to palliate; to lessen or weaken the force of; to diminish the conception of, as crime, guilt, faults, ills, accusations, etc.; -- opposed to aggravate. But fortune there extenuates the crime. Dryden. Let us extenuate, conceal, adorn the unpleasing reality. I. Taylor.
3. To lower or degrade; to detract from. [Obs.] Who can extenuate thee Milton.
Syn. -- To palliate; to mitigate. See Palliate.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Extenuate, v. i.
To become thinner; to make excuses; to advance palliating considerations. Burke.
Extenuate, a.
Thin; slender. [Obs.] Huloet.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for extenuate; he lists it under palliate.
Where he writes about it:
"When we palliate our own or others' faults we do not seek to cloke them altogether, but only to extenuate the guilt of them in part." TRENCH Study of Words lect. vi, p. 266. — from palliate
Either to palliate or to extenuate is to admit the fault; but to extenuate is rather to apologize for the offender, while to palliate is to disguise the fault; hence, we speak of extenuating but not of palliating circumstances, since circumstances can not change the inherent wrong of an act, tho they may lessen the blameworthiness of him who does it; palliating a bad thing by giving it a mild name does not make it less evil. — from palliate