† extenuateadj.
Obsolete.
a. Of the body or its parts: Shrunken, attenuated; whence, prostrated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective] > thin
leanc1000
thinc1000
swonga1300
meagrea1398
empty?c1400
(as) thin (also lean, rank) as a rakec1405
macilent?a1425
rawc1425
gauntc1440
to be skin and bone (also bones)c1450
leany?a1475
swampc1480
scarrya1500
pinched1514
extenuate1528
lean-fleshed1535
carrion-lean1542
spare1548
lank1553
carrion1565
brawn-fallen1578
raw-bone1590
scraggeda1591
thin-bellied1591
rake-lean1593
bare-boned1594
forlorn1594
Lented1594
lean-looked1597
shotten herring1598
spiny1598
starved1598
thin-belly1598
raw-boned1600
larbar1603
meagry?1603
fleshless1605
scraggy1611
ballow1612
lank-leana1616
skinnya1616
hagged1616
scraggling1616
carrion-like1620
extenuated1620
thin-gutted1620
haggard1630
scrannel1638
leanisha1645
skeletontal1651
overlean1657
emaciated1665
slank1668
lathy1672
emaciate1676
nithered1691
emacerated1704
lean-looking1713
scranky1735
squinny-gut(s)1742
mauger1756
squinny1784
angular1789
etiolated1791
as thin (also lean) as a rail1795
wiry1808
slink1817
scranny1820
famine-hollowed1822
sharp featured1824
reedy1830
scrawny1833
stringy1833
lean-ribbeda1845
skeletony1852
famine-pinched1856
shelly1866
flesh-fallen1876
thinnish1884
all horn and hide1890
unfurnished1893
bone-thin1899
underweight1899
asthenic1925
skin-and-bony1935
skinny-malinky1940
skeletal1952
pencil-neck1960
1528 S. Gardiner in N. Pocock Rec. Reformation (1870) I. l. 117 He is greatly extenuate therewith when it [gout] cometh.
1680 ‘Philalethes’ tr. G. Buchanan De Jure Regni apud Scotos 17 The..body is cured..by nourishing that which is extenuat.
b. Impoverished.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > reduced to poverty
broken-fortuned1362
depauperatea1464
peeled?a1513
extenuate1533
withered1561
penured1570
low-ebbed1595
ruined1596
shredded1596
broken1597
beggared1609
impoverisheda1631
necessitated1646
pinched1672
crazy1700
reduced1715
straitened1716
crazed1732
poverty-struck?1750
poverty-stricken?1786
pauperized1807
poverty-smitten1819
distressed1844
out at elbows1885
poverished1900
wiped1977
1533 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) I. App. xli. 107 By the same exaction of annates, bps. have been so extenuate that they have not been able..to repair their Churches.
c. Of a sound: Thin. Of a quality: Diminished; weakened. Of a number: Thinned out, reduced.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > weakened
acrazed1521
extenuate1555
dispirited1659
diluted1681
deadened1720
evirtuate1799
attenuated1828
watered1866
weakened1870
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > shrill quality > [adjective] > thin and shrill
extenuate1555
thin1690
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. viij. f The number of the poore wretches is woonderfully extenuate.
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 149 That same Maiestie..Is not extinguisht nor extenuate.
a1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis (1650) 31 Great sounds, Extenuate and sharpe.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
extenuatev.
/ɛkˈstɛnjuːeɪt/ I. To make thin, slender, or weak.† 2.
1. transitive. To make (the body, flesh, a person) thin or lean; to render emaciated or shrunken. Somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > slim [verb (transitive)] > thin
leanc897
lensea1000
lank1519
extenuate1541
meagre1570
formeagre1571
extenue1574
scarcen1594
emacerate1610
wanze1647
emaciate1650
1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) iii. xii. 66 Sorowe..dothe extenuate or make the body leane.
1650 H. Brooke Υγιεινη 160 They that are fat may exercise ad Sudorem..and that will extenuate them.
1669 A. Woodhead tr. Life St. Teresa (1671) ii. 282 The flesh is extenuated every day more and more.
1738 tr. J. Keill in Ess. Animal Oecon. (ed. 4) 292 Bodies..which are extenuated by Hunger.
1824 R. Southey Bk. of Church (1841) 182 It was deemed meritorious..to extenuate it [the body] by fasting.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. ix. vii. 465 Extenuated with fatigues.
1887 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. Eng. 18th Cent. V. xx. 385 Peasants were so extenuated by hunger that they could scarcely hold the spade.
a. To draw out to thinness; to beat (metal) into thin plates. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > thickness > thinness > make thin(ner) [verb (transitive)]
thinc900
extenuate1599
attenuate1794
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > forge or shape > in specific way
batterc1380
beat1483
peena1522
hammer1522
malleate1598
extenuate1599
upset1678
planish1688
to set down1703
foliate1704
raise1774
skelp1803
tilt1825
jump1851
cold-hammer1858
stub1869
upend1932
ding1939
coin1940
1599 R. Hakluyt tr. E. de Sande in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. ii. 90 The Chinians can very cunningly beate and extenuate gold into plates and leaues.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 537 The straightnesse of the waies enforced the Turkes to extenuat their rankes.
1654 F. W. Observ. in Fulke's Meteors (new ed.) 164 Gold..extenuated as fine as the threds in the Spiders web.
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. v. 85 His [the Sawfish's] body behind his head becomes..broad..from whence it is again extenuated all the way to the end of his Tail.
b. To stretch out; also intransitive. Perhaps confused with extend.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > extend in space [verb (intransitive)] > extend or stretch
destrechec1475
extend1481
extenuate1583
strake1594
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (transitive)] > cause to endure, sustain, or prolong
lengOE
drawOE
teec1200
forlengtha1300
lengtha1300
drivec1300
tarryc1320
proloynec1350
continuec1380
to draw alonga1382
longa1382
dretch1393
conservea1398
to draw (out) in, into, at, or on lengtha1400
prorogue1419
prolongc1425
aroomc1440
prorogate?a1475
protend?a1475
dilate1489
forlong1496
relong1523
to draw out1542
sustentate1542
linger1543
defer1546
pertract1548
propagate1548
protract1548
linger1550
lengthen1555
train1556
detract?a1562
to make forth (long, longer)1565
stretch1568
extend1574
extenuate1583
dree1584
wire-draw1598
to spin out1603
trail1604
disabridge1605
produce1605
continuate1611
out-length1617
spin1629
to eke out1641
producta1670
prolongate1671
drawl1694
drag1697
perennate1698
string1867
perennialize1898
1583 P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Eiv Rather abbreuiat oure dayes by manye yeres than extenuate our liues one minut of an houre.
1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 81 The plaines..Whose fertill bounds farre doth extenuate.
3. † b. spec. in Medicine. To render thinner (the humours or concretions of the body, etc.); = attenuate v. 2b. Obsolete.absolute.1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 27 a Almondes do extenuate and clense.1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 45 Those medicines..which do extenuate.† c. To thin out (the hair, eyebrows, etc.). Obsolete.
a. To thin out in consistency, render less dense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > make less dense [verb (transitive)]
thinc1000
laska1375
rarefya1398
subtilea1425
subtiliate1551
extenuate1559
assubtiliate1582
assubtile1589
attenuate1594
subtilize1597
thinnify1693
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 1 Moist thinges put into a body..by the force of heate are extenuated into a vapour.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xv. iii. 431 To extenuate that grosse substance into which the Olive had turned the..juice and humor.
1638 G. Sandys Paraphr. Iob 46 in Paraphr. Divine Poems He the congealed vapors melts againe Extenuated into drops of Raine.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica ii. xii. 322 A misle of Vapour or Fume may be extenuated into some hundreds [of miles].
1796 S. Vince Princ. Hydrostat. vii. 98 Accumulating and extenuating the air.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatments removing or dispersing matter > remove or disperse [verb (transitive)] > disperse, etc., humours or morbid matter
cleansec1000
resolvea1398
slaya1400
dissolvec1400
evacuec1400
mundify?a1425
repel?a1425
attenuate1533
evacuate1533
discuss?1537
divert?1541
extenuate1541
intercide?1541
educe1574
scour1577
attray1579
clenge1582
divertise1597
derive1598
revel1598
display1607
draw1608
incide1612
correct1620
fuse1705
lavage1961
1563 T. Hill Arte Gardening (1593) 71 The seeds doe extenuate and diminishe the clammy and grosse humours.
1610 G. Markham Maister-peece ii. clxxiii. 487 It extenuateth humors.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > disorders of hair > damage hair [verb (transitive)] > thin out
extenuate1585
1585 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Health (new ed.) sig. B j Want of theyr humours doth extenuat the same [hair].
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 39 The fat..extenuateth the eyebrows.
4. † a. To diminish in size, number, or amount; to reduce to meagre dimensions. Obsolete.† b. To lessen (a quality, etc.) in degree; to weaken the force of (a blow), mitigate (a law). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (transitive)]
thinc900
narroweOE
smalleOE
slakea1300
adminisha1325
minisha1382
reduce?c1400
diminish1417
littlea1500
extenuate1555
enstraiten1590
scantle1596
scant1599
bedwarfa1631
epitomize1630
dwarf1638
retrench1640
stunt1659
to take in1700
belittle1785
dwarfify1816
reduct1819
micrify1836
clip1858
downsize1977
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
anitherOE
wanzelOE
lessc1225
slakea1300
littenc1300
aslakec1314
adminisha1325
allayc1330
settle1338
low1340
minisha1382
reprovea1382
abatea1398
rebatea1398
subtlea1398
alaskia1400
forlyten?a1400
imminish14..
lessenc1410
diminish1417
repress?a1425
assuagec1430
scarcec1440
small1440
underslakec1440
alessa1450
debate?c1450
batec1460
decreasec1470
appetisse1474
alow1494
mince1499
perswage?1504
remita1513
inless?1521
attenuate1530
weaken1530
defray1532
mitigate1532
minorate1534
narrow?1548
diminuec1550
extenuate1555
amain1578
exolve1578
base1581
dejecta1586
amoinder1588
faint1598
qualify1604
contract1605
to pull down1607
shrivel1609
to take down1610
disaugment1611
impoverish1611
shrink1628
decoct1629
persway1631
unflame1635
straiten1645
depress1647
reduce1649
detract1654
minuate1657
alloy1661
lower?1662
sinka1684
retreat1690
nip1785
to drive down1840
minify1866
to knock down1867
to damp down1869
scale1887
mute1891
clip1938
to roll back1942
to cut back1943
downscale1945
downrate1958
slim1963
downshift1972
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 273 By forcible extenuatinge the gooddes and poure of them whom they desired to kepe in subiection.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 22 Small numbers are soon..extenuated by a long warre.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 205 In which Citie is a great Colossus..To extenuate the bulke of this their Pagod, they place him sitting.
1647 J. Sprigge Anglia Rediviva iii. v. 152 [They] were reduced to so much lesser number; And were yet further extenuated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > make less forceful or vigorous
extenuate1561
quay1590
retund1604
lower1666
weaken1683
subdue1723
feeble1831
soft-pedal1898
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > tone down
temperc1000
modifyc1385
softenc1410
tame?a1500
qualify1536
temperatea1540
extenuate1561
supple1609
dilute1665
palliate1665
weaken1683
subdue1723
lower1780
modulate1783
to shade away1817
to water down1832
to water down1836
sober1838
veil1843
to tone down1847
to break down1859
soothe1860
tone1884
to key down1891
soft-pedal1912
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. f. 90 We do obscure and extenuate it [God's grace] with our vnthankfulnesse.
1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia iii. sig. C8 Some great sicknes..doth..extenuate Thy fraile remembrance.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream i. i. 120 Else, the Law of Athens yeelds you vp (Which by no meanes we may extenuate) To death. View more context for this quotation
1643 W. Prynne Soveraigne Power Parl. App. 162 Kings cannot by Law change or extenuate Laws.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 4 The incurable state of his Disease might somewhat extenuate your Sorrow.
1744 W. Shenstone Wks. & Lett. (1777) III. 100 No time shall extenuate our mutual friendship.
1773 J. Ross Fratricide (MS) iv. 53 A heaviness..Extenuates my strength.
II. To lessen in representation.† 5. ‘To diminish in honour’ (Johnson), depreciate, disparage (a person, his actions, or attributes). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > disparagement or depreciation > disparage or depreciate [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
low1340
dispraisec1386
minish1402
deroge1427
detractc1449
descryc1450
detrayc1475
dismerit1484
decline1509
vilipend1509
disprize?1518
disable1528
derogatea1530
elevate1541
disparagea1556
detrect1563
debase1565
demerit1576
vilify1586
disgrace1589
detracta1592
besparage1592
enervate1593
obtrect1595
extenuate1601
disvalue1605
disparagon1610
undervalue1611
avile1615
debaucha1616
to cry down1616
debate1622
decry1641
atomize1645
underrate1646
naucify1653
dedignify1654
stuprate1655
de-ample1657
dismagn1657
slur1660
voguec1661
depreciate1666
to run down1671
baffle1674
lacken1674
sneer1706
diminish1712
substract1728
down1780
belittle1789
carbonify1792
to speak scorn of1861
to give one a back-cap1903
minoritize1947
mauvais langue1952
rubbish1953
down-talk1959
marginalize1970
marginate1970
trash1975
neg1987
1601 J. Weever Mirror of Martyrs sig. Ciijv Extenuate no more worth's matchlesse deedes.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. C1v It hath beene ordinarie..to extenuate and disable learned men by the names of Pedantes . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 645 Just are thy ways..Who can extenuate thee? View more context for this quotation
1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels II. 380 The Reply he made, extenuates the One, when put into the Ballance with the Other.
6. To estimate or state at a low figure; to disparage the magnitude or importance of; to underrate, make light of. Somewhat archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > misjudgement > misjudge [verb (transitive)] > underestimate or undervalue
to make much (also little, nothing, too much, etc.) of (or on)c1395
disprize1480
misprize1483
to make light of1526
extenuate1529
to make the worst ofc1530
seclude?1531
to take (also wrest) to the worst1531
deprisec1550
disparagea1556
undermatch1571
embase1577
underbid1593
underprize1600
underpoise1602
undervalue1611
minorize1615
underspeak1635
underthink1646
underrate1650
minify1676
under-measure1682
underpraise1698
sneeze1806
understate1824
disappreciate1828
under-estimatea1850
minimize1866
to play down1869
worsen1885
to sell short1936
downplay1948
underplay1949
lowball1979
minimalize1979
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. 1218/1 With wordes and reasoning, to extenuate and minysh the vygour and asperite of the paynes.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 58 b In accusyng any persone it is best..whereas anythyng semeth to make for hym to extenuate the same to the outermoste.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue 34 The feare of this maketh the Tenants to extenuate the values.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth iv. 192 Cuffe extenuated the danger and difficulty.
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall iv. 64 Nor can we extenuate the valour of ancient Martyrs.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. vii. xi. 83 Every Man seemed wholly bent to extenuate the Sum which fell to his Share. View more context for this quotation
1832 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. (ed. 2) II. 288 Extenuating the comparative magnitude of coral limestones.
1882 J. R. Seeley Nat. Relig. ii. i. 128 Christianity has never altogether denied, but only extenuated the claims of Art and Science.
7.
a. esp. To underrate, treat as of trifling magnitude (guilt, faults, crimes). Hence, in later use: To lessen, or seek to lessen, the seeming magnitude of (guilt or offence) by partial excuses. Also of circumstances: To serve as an extenuation of.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate
whiteOE
gloze1390
colourc1400
emplasterc1405
littlec1450
polish?c1450
daub1543
plaster1546
blanch1548
flatter1552
extenuate1570
alleviate1577
soothe1587
mincea1591
soothe1592
palliate1604
sweeten1635
rarefy1637
mitigate1651
glossa1656
whitewash1703
qualify1749
1570 T. Norton tr. A. Nowell Catech. (1853) 149 Let no man extenuate the most heinous offence of man as a small trespass.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvii. 154 None that can Excuse (though some of them may Extenuate) a Crime.
1693 W. Congreve tr. Juvenal Satires xi. 230 Fortune, there, extenuates the Crime; What's Vice in me, is only Mirth in him.
1840 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive 93 The same sense of justice..forbids us to conceal or extenuate the faults of his earlier days.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire iv. 150 A baseness that we ought never to pardon and never to extenuate.
b. Used for: To extenuate the guilt of; to plead partial excuses for.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)]
assoin?c1225
excusea1250
scusea1492
planea1513
salve1628
extenuate1741
palliate1862
1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero II. viii. 141 Pompey's fate would extenuate the omission of that step.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest II. x. 102 She now endeavoured to extenuate the conduct of Madame La Motte.
1811 C. Lamb Immod. Indulg. Palate in Wks. (1889) 635 He thought it necessary to extenuate the length of time he kept the dinner on the table.
1860 All Year Round 4 Aug. 404 The purser's steward..extenuated himself calmly enough.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1528
v.1529