Master confusing words with ease
Extenuate vs. Attenuate
Extenuate
/ɪkˈstenjuˌeɪtɪŋ/Examples:
The lawyer tried to extenuate his client's actions.Don't extenuate the gravity of the situation.She attempted to extenuate the circumstances of her mistake.
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Antonyms:
Attenuate
/əˈtenjueɪt/Examples:
The virus can attenuate its impact over time.Thin strands of metal wire attenuate sound waves effectively.Engineers found a way to attenuate the signal interference.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Extenuate is often used in a figurative sense, as in explaining away or lessening guilt, while attenuate is used in both literal and figurative senses to describe weakening or reducing something.
- Extenuate is tied more to circumstances or excuses, whereas attenuate typically relates to physical or abstract qualities being reduced.
- A helpful mnemonic: Extenuate has an x like excuse; attenuate has a t like thin, since it often means weakening or reducing in strength.
- Extenuate involves external judgment on circumstances, whereas attenuate can be an active process applied to something.
- Extenuate has the prefix ex- indicating outward, suggesting modifying perceptions, while the prefix at-, as in attenuate, signals approaching or adding, often in the sense of lowering or reducing.
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