English to English

noun (n)

• a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances(noun.communication)

  Synonym:
  mitigation
  

  source: wordnet30
• to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious(noun.act)

  Synonym:
  mitigation, palliation
  

  source: wordnet30
• The act of axtenuating or the state of being extenuated; the act of making thin, slender, or lean, or of palliating; diminishing, or lessening; palliation, as of a crime; mitigation, as of punishment.(noun)

  source: webster1913