mitigating circumstances

British

plural noun

circumstances that may be considered to lessen the culpability of an offender

"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

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.

“She feels horrible about all of this. Nobody wants to be in the chain of causation,” Geragos said, adding that he will present evidence of mitigating circumstances at her Dec. 10 sentencing.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025

There were mitigating circumstances, such as the 115 charges hanging over the club, speculation over Guardiola's future and injury to midfielder Rodri.

From BBC • Aug. 31, 2025

He looked through thousands of pages of this very complex, highly contested record, purported to weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, decided which were true and false, and drew his own conclusions.

From Slate • May 31, 2024

There are mitigating circumstances which apply in the situation of the elderly man who died of AKPV.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2024

There may be excuses, mitigating circumstances, for our greatest sins, but here it is useless to seek for any.

From Explanation of Catholic Morals A Concise, Reasoned, and Popular Exposition of Catholic Morals by Stapleton, John H. (John Henry)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023