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

And in 2024, near the peak of the sun’s current cycle, solar storm Gannon forced New Zealand power-grid operators to activate their mitigation strategy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026

That incident, along with a New York Times investigation into deaths from U.S. airstrikes, spurred the adoption of the civilian harm mitigation and response action plan in 2022.

From Salon • Jul. 7, 2026

“The 245 gives us the opportunity to meet and confer and see if there are revisions or additions or mitigation that can better protect the full community,” McOsker said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2026

The report acknowledges that some progress has been made in air quality and climate change mitigation.

From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026

I asked several courts to stay Herbert's execution because of his ineffective lawyer, racial bias during the trial, the inflammatory comments made by the prosecutor, and the lack of mitigation evidence presented.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson