extenuare: attenuare (PROP., to make thin; then to weaken, enfeeble; also to represent anything as less than it is [extenuare, opposed to augere verbis; attenuare, opposed to amplificare]; extenuare crimen, Cic.): elevare (e.g. crimen, Quint.; opposed to premere; also = to use a milder term, a euphemism, as by calling avarice parsimony, Quint.): minuere (opposed to augere, to lessen, culpam, Quint., 7, 4, 15).