mitigate

[mit-i-geyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mitigate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), mit·i·gat·ed, mit·i·gat·ing.

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.

verb (used without object), mit·i·gat·ed, mit·i·gat·ing.

to become milder; lessen in severity.

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

Related formsmit·i·ga·ble

[mit-i-guh-buh l] /ˈmɪt ɪ gə bəl/, adjectivemit·i·gat·ed·ly, adverbmit·i·ga·tion, nounmit·i·ga·tive, mit·i·ga·to·ry

[mit-i-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈmɪt ɪ gəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivemit·i·ga·tor, nounnon·mit·i·ga·tive, adjectivenon·mit·i·ga·to·ry, adjectiveo·ver·mit·i·gate, verb, o·ver·mit·i·gat·ed, o·ver·mit·i·gat·ing.un·mit·i·ga·ble, adjectiveun·mit·i·ga·tive, adjective

Can be confusedmilitate mitigate (see usage note at the current entry)

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. 2019

Related Words for mitigating

dull, lessen, ease, relieve, reduce, temper, soothe, alleviate, mollify, allay, soften, blunt, assuage, weaken, moderate, appease, subdue, palliate, extenuate, modify

Examples from the Web for mitigating

Contemporary Examples of mitigating

It is tasked with mitigating environmental destruction brought on by three and a half decades of torrid growth.
Why China Won’t Eclipse the United States
Ali Wyne
June 12, 2014
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.
America’s One-Child Policy
Brandy Zadrozny
July 17, 2013
The one mitigating circumstance I can offer the mute court of existence is that I am only tuned in (and turned off) 24-six.
I Don't Text on Shabbas
Gershom Gorenberg
June 17, 2013
Mitigating the threat posed by transferred detainees is an inherently difficult proposition.
Obama, Not Congress, Is the Reason Guantánamo Is Still Open
Thomas Joscelyn
May 3, 2013

Historical Examples of mitigating

The only mitigating feature of the business was that the matter to be reported was only a concert.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
It may be noted, however, that he showed no signs of mitigating their distress.
The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa
Paul Barron Watson
But, with the slave, all these mitigating circumstances are wanting.
My Bondage and My Freedom
Frederick 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 Antonyms
James Champlin Fernald

British Dictionary definitions for mitigating

mitigate

verb

to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate

Derived Formsmitigable (ˈmɪtɪɡəbəl), adjectivemitigation, nounmitigative or mitigatory, adjectivemitigator, noun

Word Origin for mitigate

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mitigating

adj,.

"extenuating," 1610s, present participle adjective from mitigate.

mitigate

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.

mitigating in Medicine

mitigate

[mĭt′ĭ-gāt′]

v.

To moderate in force or intensity.

Related formsmit′i•ga′tion n.