Ex*ten`u*a"tion (?), n. [L. extenuatio: cf. F. ext'enuation.]
The act of axtenuating or the state of being extenuated; the act of making thin, slender, or lean, or of palliating; diminishing, or lessening; palliation, as of a crime; mitigation, as of punishment.
To listen . . . to every extenuation of what is evil.
I. Taylor.
© Webster 1913.