extenuate

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of

Etymology

From Middle English extenuat (“(medicine) made thin, emaciated”), from Latin extenuātus (“diminished, reduced, thinned”), perfect passive participle of extenuō (“to diminish, reduce, thin”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ex- (“out-, thoroughly”) + tenuō (“to enfeeble, weaken, wear down; to lessen, reduce; to make thin”) from tenuō, itself from tenuis (“fine, slender, thin; feeble, weak”) + -ō (first conjugation-verb forming suffix) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tenh₂- (“to extend, stretch; thin”)). Compare attenuate.

In classic literature

Synonyms

palliate, mitigate

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