mitigated

American  

[mit-i-gey-tid] / ˈmɪt ɪˌgeɪ tɪd /

adjective

1. lessened in force, severity, or intensity; moderated.

   He received a mitigated sentence, with parole offered sooner than is customary.

2. (of a person, state of mind, etc.) made milder, gentler, less hostile, etc.; mollified or appeased.

   Several members expressed opinions lauding the proposal, but what is still more encouraging is the mitigated tone of its opponents.

3. Environmental Science. (of a habitat) restored or re-created in order to make up for losses due to development or agriculture.

   Here the path begins to weave among five ponds that are part of a mitigated wetland installed at the nature museum in 1998.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of mitigate.

Other Word Forms

• mitigatedly adverb

Etymology

Origin of mitigated

First recorded in 1540–50; mitigate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; mitigate ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Explanation

Use the adjective mitigated to describe something that's been made less serious. If your friend gets a serious case of food poisoning, news of her mitigated symptoms will make you feel relieved. When something has lessened in intensity or seriousness, you can call it mitigated. If a judge decides on a mitigated sentence for your brother the car thief, it means he's not in quite as much trouble as he might have been, and you could say that hosting movie night at your house has mitigated, or reduced, the money you spend at the theater. The Latin root word, mitigatus, means make mild or gentle.

Example Sentences

Traders are pricing in higher disruption risk for Brent, the international standard, while WTI’s gains are mitigated by American domestic inventories and the possibility of restrictions on U.S. crude exports.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Such issues can be — at least in some cases — mitigated by having wealth.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026

At Disneyland Resort, that dip was mitigated by the park’s high percentage of California-based visitors.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

Finance chief Jay Saccaro noted the company significantly mitigated tariffs, demonstrating its operational resilience.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

This is the most mitigated statement of all.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• diminished