mitigate

[ mit-i-geyt ]

/ ˈmɪt ɪˌgeɪt /

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See synonyms for: mitigate / mitigated / mitigating / mitigation 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.

Environmental Science. to restore or recreate (a habitat) in order to make up for losses due to development or agriculture: No one has tried anything on this scale before to mitigate the grasslands bird habitat.

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

to become milder; lessen in severity.

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Origin of mitigate

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English mitigaten, from 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 verb suffix; see -ate¹

words often confused with mitigate

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM mitigate

mit·i·ga·ble

[mit-i-guh-buhl], /ˈmɪt ɪ gə bəl/, adjectivemit·i·ga·tion

[mit-i-gey-shuhn], /ˌmɪt ɪˈgeɪ ʃən/, nounmit·i·ga·tor, nouno·ver·mit·i·gate, verb, o·ver·mit·i·gat·ed, o·ver·mit·i·gat·ing.

un·mit·i·ga·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mitigate

militate, mitigate (see confusables note at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mitigate in a sentence

According to the SAGE minutes, the panel said measures would be “urgently needed” to mitigate the effects of its proposed interventions on the poorest members of society.
The U.K. government’s scientific advisers told it weeks ago to introduce a national lockdown. It ignored them.|David Meyer|October 13, 2020|Fortune
The good news is that 50,000 Floridians registered to vote during the extended hours, mitigating some of the damage.
A crashed voter registration website is Floridians’ latest obstacle to the right to vote|Sara Morrison|October 9, 2020|Vox
Facebook, which through its collection of apps reaches the vast majority of the US population, has again launched a new slew of initiatives to mitigate the harm misinformation on its platforms can cause.
Facebook to pause all political advertising—after the election|Kate Cox|October 8, 2020|Ars Technica
We’re looking to contact-tracing processes to mitigate further spread of the disease.
Vice presidential debate: Highlights and fact-checks|Colby Itkowitz, Anne Gearan, Matt Viser, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|October 8, 2020|Washington Post

You suggest a lot of ideas to mitigate global warming—adding dust to the atmosphere, slowing the glaciers’ flow, and “carbon coins,” which reward carbon sequestration, and would be traded on currency markets.
Kim Stanley Robinson Holds Out Hope - Issue 90: Something Green|Liz Greene|October 7, 2020|Nautilus
She read an unmitigable opposition in his eyes and sadly said, "You'll come here to sleep, won't you?"
Victor Ollnee's Discipline|Hamlin Garland
Unmitigable, un-mit′i-ga-bl, adj. that cannot be mitigated or alleviated.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
Mr. Henley speaks of his ‘deliberate and unmitigable baseness of morality.’
The Comedies of William Congreve|William Congreve
Here is Donatello haunted with strange remorse, and an unmitigable resolve to obtain what he deems justice upon himself.
The Marble Faun, Volume II.|Nathaniel Hawthorne
No better process was found, and the disgust of the public with their goods was soon general and unmitigable.
Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made|James D. McCabe, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for mitigate

mitigate

/ (ˈmɪtɪˌɡeɪt) /

verb

to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate

Derived forms of mitigate

mitigable (ˈmɪtɪɡəbəl), adjectivemitigation, nounmitigative or mitigatory, adjectivemitigator, noun

Word Origin for mitigate

C15: from Latin mītigāre, from mītis mild + agere to make

usage for mitigate

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

mitigate

Origin of mitigate

words often confused with mitigate

OTHER WORDS FROM mitigate

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mitigate

Words related to mitigate

How to use mitigate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mitigate

Derived forms of mitigate

Word Origin for mitigate

usage for mitigate