comfort, delight, ease, enjoyment, peace, rapture, relief, solace.
apologize for, conceal, extenuate, hide, screen, cloak, cover, gloss over, mitigate, veil.
_Cloak_, from the French, and _palliate_, from the Latin, are the same in original signification, but have diverged in meaning; a _cloak_ may be used to _hide_ completely the person or some object carried about the person, or it may but partly _veil_ the figure, making the outlines less distinct; _cloak_ is used in the former, _palliate_, in the latter sense; to _cloak_ a sin is to attempt to _hide_ it from discovery; to _palliate_ it is to attempt to _hide_ some part of its blameworthiness. "When we _palliate_ our own or others' faults we do not seek to _cloke_ them altogether, but only to _extenuate_ the guilt of them in part." TRENCH _Study of Words_ lect. vi, p. 266. Either to _palliate_ or to _extenuate_ is to admit the fault; but to _extenuate_ is rather to _apologize_ for the offender, while to _palliate_ is to disguise the fault; hence, we speak of _extenuating_ but not of _palliating_ circumstances, since circumstances can not change the inherent wrong of an act, tho they may lessen the blameworthiness of him who does it; _palliating_ a bad thing by giving it a mild name does not make it less evil. In reference to diseases, to _palliate_ is really to diminish their violence, or partly to relieve the sufferer. Compare ALLEVIATE; HIDE.
absolve, condone, forgive, pass by, remit. acquit, excuse, overlook, pass over,
To _pardon_ is to let pass, as a fault or sin, without resentment, blame, or punishment. _Forgive_ has reference to feelings, _pardon_ to consequences; hence, the executive may _pardon_, but has nothing to do officially with _forgiving_. Personal injury may be _forgiven_ by the person wronged; thus, God at once _forgives_ and _pardons_; the _pardoned_ sinner is exempt from punishment; the _forgiven_ sinner is restored to the divine favor. To _pardon_ is the act of a superior, implying the right to punish; to _forgive_ is the privilege of the humblest person who has been wronged or offended. In law, to _remit_ the whole penalty is equivalent to _pardoning_ the offender; but a part of a penalty may be _remitted_ and the remainder inflicted, as where the penalty includes both fine and imprisonment. To _condone_ is to put aside a recognized offense by some act which restores the offender to forfeited right or privilege, and is the act of a private individual, without legal formalities. To _excuse_ is to _overlook_ some slight offense, error, or breach of etiquette; _pardon_ is often used by courtesy in nearly the same sense. A person may speak of _excusing_ or _forgiving_ himself, but not of _pardoning_ himself. Compare ABSOLVE; PARDON, _n._