0 causing a wrong act to be judged less seriously by giving reasons for it: --
1 acting to excuse something bad or causing something bad to be judged less seriously: --
There were extenuating circumstances.
The chairman recognized that there were many extenuating and exceptional circumstances.
The bad guys, for all their extenuating qualities, are still bad.
Homeowners who fall behind on their mortgages because of extenuating conditions are eligible to refinance.