excuse vs extenuation

extenuation vs excuse

excuse and extenuation both are nouns.

excuse is a verb but extenuation is not a verb.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
excuse	Yes	No	Yes	No
extenuation	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, extenuation is a hyponym of excuse; that is, extenuation is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than excuse:

excuse: a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.
extenuation: a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances

Other hyponyms of excuse include mitigation.

excuse (noun)	extenuation (noun)
a poor example	to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious
a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.	a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances
a note explaining an absence

excuse (verb)	extenuation (verb)
accept an excuse for
defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with
serve as a reason or cause or justification of
grant exemption or release to
ask for permission to be released from an engagement

Difference between excuse and extenuation

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