Wiktionary:Word of the day/2022/July 7

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Word of the day
for July 7
extenuate adj (obsolete)
  1. Of a person: emaciated, wasted, weakened; of the body or part of it: atrophied, shrunken, withered.
  2. Of a quality or thing: lessened, weakened.
  3. Reduced to poverty; impoverished.

extenuate v (transitive, formal)

  1. To make (something) less dense, or thinner; also, to lower the viscosity of (something).
  2. (archaic)
    1. To make (someone or something) slender or thin; to emaciate, to waste.
    2. To underestimate or understate the importance of (something); to underrate.
      1. (specifically) To diminish or seek to diminish the extent or severity of (a crime, guilt, a mistake, or something else negative) by making apologies or excuses; to palliate.
  3. (obsolete)
    1. To beat or draw (a metal object, etc.) out so as to lessen the thickness.
    2. To reduce the quality or quantity of (something); to lessen or weaken the force of (something).
    3. To degrade (someone); to detract from (someone's qualities, reputation, etc.); to depreciate, to disparage.
← yesterday | About Word of the DayNominate a wordLeave feedback | tomorrow →