mitigation
mit-ih-GAY-shuhn
/ˌmɪt.ɪˈɡeɪ.ʃən/
The action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something.
Mitigation doesn't necessarily stop the event from happening, but it makes the consequences less damaging.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'mitis', meaning 'mild' or 'soft'. To mitigate something is to literally 'make it soft' or less harsh.
Word relationships
- alleviation: Alleviation is often used for physical pain or suffering; mitigation is used for risks and negative impacts.
- aggravation: The act of making a problem or injury worse.
- exacerbation: Making a bad situation or a negative feeling worse.
Commonly confused with
- prevention: Prevention stops the event; mitigation reduces the damage if the event occurs.
Word family
- mitigate (verb): To make less severe.
- mitigative (adjective): Tending to mitigate.
Collocations
- risk mitigation
- mitigation strategy
- climate change mitigation
- mitigation efforts
Example sentences
- "The city implemented flood mitigation strategies, such as building levees, after the last storm." Environmental Planning
- "Risk mitigation involves taking steps to reduce the impact of a potential project failure." Risk Management
Memory hook
Miti-GATE: Think of a gate that slows down a flood, making it 'mild'. Making it mild.
When not to use
Don't use 'mitigation' when you mean 'prevention' (stopping it entirely).
Fun facts
- In legal trials, 'mitigating circumstances' are facts that don't excuse a crime but might result in a lighter sentence.
Related words
Explore more words
mitigate, remediation, offset, palliative, Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas
Also appears in
- Conflict → Excuses & Justifications
- Technology → Ecology & Climate Science
- Law → Clemency, Pardons & Parole
- Nature → Environmental Conservation
- Nature → Urban Environmental Planning
- Health Sciences → Preventive & Rehabilitative Medicine
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Climate Policy & International Agreements
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Urban Pollution & Smog
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → International Environmental Accords
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Disaster Mitigation & Resilience
- Health Sciences → Global Pandemics & Disease Control
- Aviation & Maritime Transport → Aviation Safety & Investigations
- Law → Traffic Courts & Citations
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