mitigate
MIT-uh-gayt
/ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/
To make less severe, serious, or painful.
Used for circumstances, risks, or physical effects. You don't mitigate a person; you mitigate the damage or the punishment.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'mitigare', meaning to make mild. It originally referred to making soil softer for farming or making fruit more mellow.
Word relationships
- alleviate: Alleviate is often used for physical pain; mitigate is more common for risks and legal penalties.
- aggravate: Aggravate means to make a bad situation even worse.
Commonly confused with
- militate: Militate (usually 'militate against') means to work against something; mitigate means to soften something.
Word family
- mitigation (noun): The action of reducing the severity of something.
Collocations
- mitigate the risk
- mitigating circumstances
- mitigate the impact
Example sentences
- "Drainage schemes have helped to mitigate the effects of the floods." Environmental science.
Memory hook
Mitigate: Think of a 'Mitt' (glove) that softens the impact of a fast-moving ball. The 'mitt' softens the hit.
When not to use
Do not use this to describe calming an angry person directly; use 'placate' for that.
Fun facts
- In law, 'mitigating circumstances' are facts that don't excuse a crime but might result in a lighter sentence.
Explore more words
Also appears in
- Leadership → Adaptability in Crisis
- Business → Project Management
- Technology → Cybersecurity & Privacy
- Finance → Speculation & Risk Management
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Carbon Footprint & Emissions
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Water Scarcity & Management
- Hobbies, Crafts & Leisure → Board Games & Tabletop
- Skilled Trades & Construction → Construction Site Management
- Emergency Services & Public Safety → Disaster Relief & Humanitarian Aid
- Emergency Services & Public Safety → Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Response
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