EXTEN'UATE, verb transitive [Latin extenuo; ex and tenuo, to make thin.] 1. To make thin, lean or slender. Sickness extenuates the body. 2. To lessen; to diminish; as a crime or guilt. But fortune there extenuates the crime. 3. To lessen in representation; to palliate; opposed to aggravate. 4. To lessen or diminish in honor. [Little used.] 5. To make thin or rare; opposed to condense. [Little used.] EXTEN'UATE, adjective Thin; slender. [Not used.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI