extenuating

verb

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present)present participle and gerund of extenuate

adj

1. That lessens the seriousness of something by providing an excuse.

   “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).”