extenuatory en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ɛksˈtɛnjuəˌtɔɹi/
- /ɛksˈtɛnjuət(ə)ɹi/
Etymology
Compare Latin extenuātōrius (“attenuating”).
Meanings
-
Tending to extenuate or palliate.
Johnson has spread over Savage's character the varnish, or rather the veil, of stately diction and extenuatory phrases, but cannot prevent the observant reader from seeing that Savage was an ungrateful and insolent profligate.
1831, John Wilson Croker, notes in The Life of Samuel Johnson (by James Boswell)
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more extenuatory | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most extenuatory | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |