Synonyms for palliate
verb
apologize for, make light of, screen, hide, conceal, cover, veil, gloss over, cloak, mitigate, assuage, varnish, veneer, whitewash, soften, soft-pedal, subdue, moderate, gloze, bolster up, exculpate, vindicate, justify, alleviate; see also excuse, extenuate.
See palliate in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
palliate extenuate gloss 1gloze whitewash
These verbs mean to cause a fault or offense to seem less grave or less reprehensible: palliate a crime; couldn't extenuate the malfeasance; glossing over an unethical transaction; glozing sins and iniquities; whitewashed official complicity in political extortion.
See Also Synonyms at
relieve.
See palliate in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To conceal or make light of a fault or offense:
explain away, extenuate, gloss over, gloze (over), sleek over, whitewash. See showTo make less severe or more bearable:
allay, alleviate, assuage, comfort, ease, lessen, lighten2, mitigate, relieve. See increase
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