EXTENUA'TION, noun The act of making thin; the process of growing thin or lean; the losing of flesh. 1. The act representing any thing less wrong, faulty or criminal than it is in fact; palliation; opposed to aggravation; as the extenuation of faults, injuries or crimes. 2. Mitigation; alleviation; as the extenuation of punishment. [Not common.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI