mitigate
[mit-i-geyt]
- to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate.
- to make less severe: to mitigate a punishment.
- to make (a person, one's state of mind, disposition, etc.) milder or more gentle; mollify; appease.
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- to become milder; lessen in severity.
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Origin of mitigate
1375–1425; late Middle English mitigaten < Latin mītigātus (past participle of mītigāre to calm, soften, soothe), equivalent to mīt(is) mild, soft, gentle + -ig- (combining form of agere to do, cause to do, make) + -ātus -ate1
Usage note
Mitigate, whose central meaning is “to lessen” or “to make less severe,” is sometimes confused with militate, which means “to have effect or influence; weigh on.” This mix-up often occurs in the use of the phrase mitigate against, as follows: This criticism in no way mitigates (read militates ) against your going ahead with your research. Although this use of mitigate occasionally occurs in edited writing, it is rare and is widely regarded as an error.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
dull, lessen, ease, relieve, reduce, temper, soothe, alleviate, mollify, allay, soften, blunt, assuage, weaken, moderate, appease, subdue, palliate, extenuate, modifyExamples from the Web for mitigating
Contemporary Examples
It is tasked with mitigating environmental destruction brought on by three and a half decades of torrid growth.
The defense strategy at trial was as much about mitigating as acquitting.
Bradley Manning: ‘I Will Recover From This ... This Is Just a Stage in My Life’Alexa O'Brien
August 21, 2013
Naturally, mitigating the financial burden of raising children would make it easier to decide to have more of them.
The one mitigating circumstance I can offer the mute court of existence is that I am only tuned in (and turned off) 24-six.
Mitigating the threat posed by transferred detainees is an inherently difficult proposition.
Historical Examples
The only mitigating feature of the business was that the matter to be reported was only a concert.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
It may be noted, however, that he showed no signs of mitigating their distress.
The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus VasaPaul Barron Watson
But, with the slave, all these mitigating circumstances are wanting.
My Bondage and My FreedomFrederick Douglass
And for mitigating the strictures of my report, eh, Monsieur?
The Nabob, Vol. 2 (of 2)Alphonse Daudet
Extreme provocation may be a mitigating —— in a case of homicide.
English Synonyms and AntonymsJames Champlin Fernald
mitigate
- to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate
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Word Origin
C15: from Latin mītigāre, from mītis mild + agere to make
usage
Mitigate is sometimes wrongly used where militate is meant: his behaviour militates (not mitigates) against his chances of promotion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for mitigating
adj,.
"extenuating," 1610s, present participle adjective from mitigate.
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mitigate
v.
early 15c., "relieve (pain)," from Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare "soften, make tender, ripen, mellow, tame," figuratively, "make mild or gentle, pacify, soothe," ultimately from mitis "gentle, soft" (from PIE *mei- "mild") + root of agere "do, make, act" (see act). First element is from PIE root *mei- "soft, mild." Related: Mitigated; mitigating; mitigates.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mitigate
(mĭt′ĭ-gāt′)- To moderate in force or intensity.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.