English → Latin
“extenuate” in Latin
extenuōto thin, reduce, diminishattenuōto make thin, attenuate, thin, reduce; to make weak, weaken, lessen, diminish, attenuate, enfeebleēlevōto raise or elevate; to alleviate or sooth; to weaken, lessenminuōto make smaller, lessen, diminish, reduce, minimize; to attenuate, appease, suppress, repress, quell; to dismember, tearculpafault, defect, weakness, frailty, temptation; blame, guilt; crime, punishable act, mischief, sin
The English word extenuate itself goes back to Latin tenuis, through extenuātus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
extenuate
extenuare: attenuare (PROP., to make thin; then to weaken, enfeeble; also to represent anything as less than it is [extenuare, opposed to augere verbis; attenuare, opposed to amplificare]; extenuare crimen, Cic.): elevare (e.g. crimen, Quint.; opposed to premere; also = to use a milder term, a euphemism, as by calling avarice parsimony, Quint.): minuere (opposed to augere, to lessen, culpam, Quint., 7, 4, 15).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for extenuate?
- The usual Latin words for “extenuate” are extenuō, attenuō, ēlevō; also minuō, culpa. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.