Synonyms of the word

extenuate

• v. (transitive) To make thin or slender; to draw out so as to lessen the thickness.
• v. (intransitive) To become thinner.
• v. (transitive) To lessen; to palliate; to lessen or weaken the force of; to diminish the conception of,…
• v. (obsolete) To lower or degrade; to detract from.

apologise

• v. (British spelling) Alternative form of apologize.

apologize

• v. (intransitive, often followed by “for”) To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense,…
• v. (intransitive) To express regret that a certain event has occurred.
• v. (intransitive) (dated) To make an apology or defense; to act as apologist.

excuse

• v. (transitive) To forgive; to pardon.
• v. (transitive) To allow to leave.
• v. (transitive) To provide an excuse for; to explain, with the aim of alleviating guilt or negative judgement.
• v. To relieve of an imputation by apology or defense; to make apology for as not seriously evil; to ask pardon…
• n. (countable, uncountable) Explanation designed to avoid or alleviate guilt or negative judgment.
• n. (law) A defense to a criminal or civil charge wherein the accused party admits to doing acts for which…
• n. (with negative adjective prepositioned, especially sorry or poor) An example.

justify

• v. (transitive) To provide an acceptable explanation for.
• v. (transitive) To be a good, acceptable reason for; warrant.
• v. (transitive) To arrange (text) on a page or a computer screen such that the left and right ends of all…
• v. (transitive) To absolve, and declare to be free of blame or sin.
• v. To prove; to ratify; to confirm.
• v. (law) To show (a person) to have had a sufficient legal reason for an act that has been made the subject…
• v. (law) To qualify (oneself) as a surety by taking oath to the ownership of sufficient property.

mitigate

• v. (transitive) To reduce, lessen, or decrease.
• v. (transitive) To downplay.

palliate

• adj. (obsolete) Cloaked; hidden, concealed.
• adj. (obsolete) Eased; mitigated; alleviated.
• v. To relieve the symptoms of; to ameliorate.
• v. (obsolete) To hide or disguise.
• v. To cover or disguise the seriousness of (a mistake, offence etc.) by excuses and apologies.
• v. (obsolete) To lessen the severity of; to extenuate, moderate, qualify.
• v. To placate or mollify.

rationalise

• v. (British spelling) alternative spelling of rationalize.

rationalize

• v. To make something rational or more rational.
• v. To justify an immoral act, or illogical behaviour. “The process of thought by which one justifies a discreditable…
• v. (mathematics) To remove radicals, without changing the value of an expression or the roots of an equation.
• v. To structure something along modern, efficient and systematic lines, or according to scientific principles…