Extenuating circumstances is a formal phrase indicating conditions that alleviate someone's wrongdoing in a way that still doesn't justify his /her actions but make them seem less serious than they actually are. This phrase is often heard in a court of law where the defendent (the person accused of a certain crime) can get a less severe punishment if certain extenuating cirmustances exist. Note also extenuating cirmustances/mitigating circumstances
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