transitive. To make white by coating with a white-coloured substance, esp. to paint or render (a wall, building, etc.) with whitewash. Also with over…

transitive. To veil with specious comments; to palliate; to explain away, extenuate. Frequently with over; †also with out.

transitive. To represent (a wrong or hostile act, intention, etc.) in a positive manner; to disguise with or under the appearance of something…

transitive. To cover with or as with plaster; to plaster over; to plaster together. Cf. plaster, v. 2. Now rare.

transitive. To extenuate (a sin). Obsolete.

figurative. transitive. To gloss over (a sin, treacherous act, etc.). Obsolete. rare.

figurative. To cover with a specious exterior; to whitewash, cloak, gloss. Obsolete.

transitive. figurative. To patch or mend superficially or temporarily; to gloss over, cover up. Also: to lavish (a person) with praise…

To give a fair appearance to by artifice or suppression of the truth; to palliate, to ‘whitewash.’ Now only with over (with reference to 1b).

To praise or compliment unduly or insincerely. †Const. of. †Also in weaker sense, to gloss over, palliate (faults), speak too leniently to (an…

esp. To underrate, treat as of trifling magnitude (guilt, faults, crimes). Hence, in later use: To lessen, or seek to lessen, the seeming…

transitive. To lessen the gravity of (an offence or wrongdoing); to extenuate. Now rare.

To smooth or gloss over (an offence, etc.); to render less objectionable or offensive. Obsolete.

transitive. More generally: to lessen or diminish in representation; to make little of, minimize; to disparage; to palliate, extenuate (faults). Now…

Similarly with up. Obsolete.

transitive. To disguise or misrepresent the gravity of (an offence, fault, etc.) esp. by means of an excuse; to extenuate, excuse.

To make less harsh, offensive, or objectionable; to soften, palliate, extenuate. Now rare or Obsolete.

Extended uses. transitive. To extenuate or mitigate (a fault). Obsolete. rare.

transitive. To extenuate or lessen the gravity of (an offence, a wrongdoing).

transitive. To put a gloss upon. In immaterial sense: To give a fair appearance to; to veil in specious language. Also with over, and in indirect…

transitive. To conceal the faults or errors of; to free, or attempt to free, from blame; to provide with a semblance of honesty, respectability…

transitive. To make less wrong or reprehensible, to justify. Obsolete.