remediation
rih-mee-dee-AY-shuhn
/rɪˌmiː.diˈeɪ.ʃən/
The action of remedying something, in particular of reversing or stopping environmental damage.
Implies a deep, structural fix rather than a quick patch.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 're-' (again) and 'mederi' (to heal). It is the same root as 'medicine'. Remediation is the process of 'healing' a situation or an environment.
Word relationships
- rectification: Rectification is about making something right; remediation is about 'healing' or fixing a damaged state.
- pollution: The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.
- deterioration: The process of becoming progressively worse.
Commonly confused with
- mitigation: Mitigation makes the damage less severe; remediation fixes the damage after it has happened.
Word family
- remedial (adjective): Provided or intended as a remedy.
- remedy (verb/noun): To set right; a medicine or treatment.
Collocations
- environmental remediation
- remediation plan
- remediation efforts
- remediation costs
Example sentences
- "The soil remediation project took three years to complete before the land was safe for housing." Environmental Engineering
- "The student required remediation in mathematics to catch up with the rest of the class." Education
Memory hook
RE-MEDI-ation: Think of 'RE-doing' the 'MEDICINE' for the earth. Healing the damage.
When not to use
Don't use 'remediation' for small fixes like repairing a leaky faucet; use it for large-scale corrections (like cleaning a polluted lake).
Fun facts
- In the world of IT, 'remediation' refers to the steps taken to fix a security hole after a vulnerability has been discovered.
Related words
Explore more words
remediate, remedial, rectify, restore, restoration, mitigation
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