Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

extenuating

/ɪkstˈɛnjuˌeɪtɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.56 in modern English

Syllables: ex-ten-u-at-ing
IPA: /ɪkstˈɛnjuˌeɪtɪŋ/

19

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

5

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle and gerund of extenuate

adj

That attenuates or lessens the seriousness of something, e.g. by providing a mitigating excuse for it.

Example Sentences

"In the instant case, testimony has been offered that there were extenuating circumstances which might have made it impossible for the Hospital to comply with the time limit (Union office closed on April 4, 1974, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March)."

Etymology

From Latin ex (“to delete, to cross out”) and tenuatus, past participle of tenuare (“to make thin”) + Middle English -ing. By surface analysis, ex- + tenuate + -ing.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: ex, -ing

Inflected Forms

more extenuating (comparative) most extenuating (superlative)

Derived Forms

extenuatingly nonextenuating unextenuating

Phrases

extenuating circumstance

Questions

How do you pronounce extenuating?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪkstˈɛnjuˌeɪtɪŋ/.
What does extenuating mean?: present participle and gerund of extenuate
Where does extenuating come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce extenuating

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