remediate
Americanverb
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to remove or reduce (pollutants, harmful chemicals, etc.).
Water damage restoration experts mop up and dry out homes, remediate mold, decontaminate items, and repair damaged structures.
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to clean (air, soil, water, etc.) by removing or reducing pollutants, harmful chemicals, etc..
It could cost up to $10 billion to remediate the remaining 6.2 million acres of land and waters damaged by the abandoned mines.
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to lessen the effect of; ameliorate.
The university's agreement to remediate harm shall be considered an act of compassion and empathy, not an admission of guilt.
Etymology
Origin of remediate
Back formation from remediation ( def. )
Explanation
To remediate is to correct or make right. If you accidentally ran over your neighbor's bike with your car, you could remediate the bad situation by paying for the bike's repair. When you remediate some kind of damage or mistake, you repair it or set it straight. To remediate often means to make up for a lack of something, like when schools remediate students who have struggled in certain classes by giving them extra instruction after school. The origin of remediate goes back to the Latin word remedium, a cure, remedy, or medicine.
Vocabulary lists containing remediate
100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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The Big Thirst
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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:
The same is true for those trying to remediate unsafe buildings.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
"We are looking at environmental disasters like oil spills, and identifying ways to remediate them in faster, greener and more sustainable ways," Oran said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
After the Cuyahoga River was badly damaged by runaway industrialization, its multidecade cleanup effort required new technologies to monitor and remediate its water quality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
But this summer, the building was still deemed unsafe by the fire service, which said it had to close "in the absence of any suitable plans to remediate the fire safety shortfalls".
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
Under the judicious application of cooling astringent collyria, and other remediate means, the irritation and pain of the parts were relieved, and the lids somewhat retracted.
From The Dog by Youatt, William
The plan also pledges that by 2029, all buildings 36ft or above with unsafe cladding will either have been remediated, have a date for completion, or the landlords will be liable for severe penalties.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
"It's an opportunity now for that land to be remediated for nature and the community."
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
Los Angeles County, UCLA, USC and several other organizations launched their own soil testing efforts, and all found elevated levels of lead at homes that had already been remediated by federal cleanup crews.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
He bought his parents a $4 million home in Altadena, which had to be remediated for smoke damage after the fires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025
The student with severe prior knowledge deficits can usually be rapidly remediated by learning basic thinking skills first: for instance, the basic memorization techniques, note taking, outlining, and free association recall techniques.
From Sequential Problem Solving A Student Handbook with Checklists for Successful Critical Thinking by Lozo, Fredric
Most, including Lewis, are in various stages of grappling with insurance, permits and construction, whether they have to rebuild from the ground up or salvage their homes by remediating damage caused by toxic smoke.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
“Preventing future Mythos level attacks and remediating identified vulnerabilities requires the participation of the broader security industry, domain expertise, and deterministic detection, which Anthropic can’t deliver,” the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
US officials added that any future aid would be "dependent on the Somali Federal Government taking accountability" and remediating the matter.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
Sunderland City Council said it was "remediating the site in preparation for future investment" and would soon be procuring a contractor, with building work expected to start "later in the year".
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2025
“Approving this contract is an important step in remediating the permissive public safety environment our city has endured for years,” Councilmember Bob Kettle, the Public Safety Committee Chair, said in a statement.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
