Alphabet Soup: E is for Extenuate

E is for Extenuate

(verb)

Definition: To lessen the seriousness or magnitude of an offense by making partial excuses.

Synonyms: mitigate, diminish, downplay, moderate

He was guilty of stealing the food, but there were extenuating circumstances.

A high percentage of the people living in industrialized nations are literate, but only a small percentage of them attempt to make a living by writing. Of those that attempt to become serious writers, only a fraction of them succeed. There are several things that can be done to improve the quality of one’s writing. One of them is increasing your vocabulary. There is a lot of power in words.

Comments: 12

phil w. Jan 7, 2013, 10:34pm UTC

This is the "buzz" word of today's society ! There's always 'extenuating' circumstances that can be blamed for the failure,loss,shortcomings,whatever the negative is ! Not a good word , but we hear it so much !!!