mitigating

American

[mit-i-gay-ting] / ˈmɪt ɪˌgeɪ tɪŋ /

Rarely mitigative

adjective

lessening the force, intensity, or severity of something, as punishment, danger, pain, anger, etc. (sometimes used in combination).

The defense made only brief mention of his intellectual disability and the beatings he suffered—mitigating circumstances that could have changed the trial’s outcome.
As a responsible bank, we take various risk-mitigating measures to protect the interests of our customers.

noun

the act or fact of lessening the force, severity, etc., of something.

Seven organizations have agreed to contribute microsatellites dedicated to the monitoring and mitigating of man-made and natural disasters.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of mitigating

First recorded in 1565–75; mitigat(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective; mitigat(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

mitigating

He said the traditional approach to mitigating insider risk relies on verifying someone’s identity and then trusting that what they do afterward is legitimate, which can miss cases where the threat develops over time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The so-called Games Agreement laid out a “shared set of values” and called for an operating budget that would be “prudent, realistic, and designed to protect taxpayers by mitigating financial risk.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

It depends on where you live, however, as there are many mitigating factors when it comes to filing for Chapter 7.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026