[usu.   as adj. 
减轻(罪责或过错)的程度;使看起来情有可原
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hunger and poverty are not treated by the courts as extenuating circumstances .饥饿和贫穷没有被法庭视为可以减轻罪行的具体情况。
 
[usu.   as adj. 
〈诗/文〉 使瘦削
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drawings of extenuated figures .瘦削人物的素描。
 
"late Middle English (in the sense ‘make thin, emaciate’):  from Latin