abate (attempt to . . . seriousness of an offense) v.t.: palliate
Every civilization needs its self-justifying myths. . . . America’s great national myth of the settlement and taming of the frontier grew out of the slaughter of indigenous peoples, which it was meant to explain and palliate. (James Bowman, “Alien Menace: Lt. Ripley Is Hollywood’s Mythical Woman—Butch and Ready to Kill,” National Review, 1/26/1998, p. 35.)
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