mitigation

American  

[mit-i-gey-shuhn] / ˌmɪt ɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

• mitigations
  plural

1. the act of mitigating, or lessening the force or intensity of something unpleasant, as wrath, pain, grief, or extreme circumstances.

   Social support is the most important factor in the mitigation of stress among adolescents.

2. the act of making a condition or consequence less severe.

   the mitigation of a punishment.

3. the act of alleviating harmful or dangerous conditions or of reducing the harm inflicted by them.

   radon mitigation;

   mitigation of climate change;

   aircraft noise mitigation.

4. the process of becoming milder, gentler, or less severe.

5. a mitigating circumstance, event, or consequence.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonmitigation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mitigations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mitigation

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Anglo-French, Middle French mitigacion, from Latin mitigātiōn-, stem of mitigātiō, equivalent to mitigāt(us), past participle of mitigāre “to calm, soften, soothe” + -iō -ion ( def. ); see mitigate ( def. )

Explanation

Mitigation is the act of lessening or easing the harshness of a punishment, a fine, or someone's pain. In the legal world, a lawyer might ask a judge for mitigation of a particularly harsh sentence. Mitigation is the noun form of the verb mitigate, which means "to lessen in severity." After a natural disaster, the government might offer mitigation, in the form of aid, to ease people’s suffering. If someone tries to make an offense seem less serious by offering an excuse, that's also mitigation. If you miss your curfew, you might state in mitigation that you came home late because you were helping an old lady cross the street.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mitigation mitigations

He added that "further pedestrianisation" of the city centre "without significant mitigation will exclude many of us from our city".

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s hearing board, a five-member committee tasked with deciding enforcement matters, voted unanimously to impose more than 90 measures to strengthen odor mitigation efforts and cleanup.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

In mitigation, Elliott Stern told the court his client had tried to deal with the dispute without resorting to killing the fish.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

If the government believes that a proposed AI deployment could pose crucial national-security risks, there would be a clear avenue for assessment and mitigation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

My plea in mitigation lasted over an hour.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Drug approval, product safety, and nuclear oversight require regulators to have a detailed understanding of hazards and mitigations beforehand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

The current demand bump is likely due to some demand destruction and demand mitigations in place with the rising prices at the pump, Cinquegrana said.

From MarketWatch ● May 5, 2026

Having considered possible mitigations, Sir Olly then decided to give Lord Mandelson clearance, something which he says is not tantamount to having "overruled" UKSV.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

She said exemptions were previously agreed in 2017 and ongoing risk mitigations continue to be applied as the ward remains open.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

He held fast to eternal punishment, but allowed the possibility of mitigations.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7 "Equation" to "Ethics" by Various