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mitigate

MIT-uh-gayt /ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/

verbC1GRESATGMATTOEFLIELTS

formalacademictechnical

To make less severe, serious, or painful; to lessen the impact of a hazard.

Focuses on reducing harm or severity rather than eliminating the threat entirely.

The story behind the word. From Latin 'mitigare' (to make mild or soft), combining 'mitis' (soft) and 'agere' (to make/do). Roman farmers used it to describe softening soil or taming wild vines.

Word relationships

alleviate: Alleviate usually refers to relieving bodily pain or mental suffering, whereas mitigate applies to hazards and consequences.
attenuate: Attenuate means weakening the force or amplitude of something physical like sound or signal.

exacerbate: To make a problem or severity worse.
aggravate: To intensify harm or annoyance.

Commonly confused with

militate: Mitigate means to soften or lessen harm; militate means to exert influence against an outcome (militate against).

Word family

mitigation (noun): The action of reducing the severity or seriousness of something.
mitigating (adjective): Serving to lessen the gravity of an offense or harm.

Collocations

mitigate risk
mitigate damage
mitigate impact
mitigate harm

Example sentences

"Responders threw down absorbent booms to mitigate the environmental damage caused by the fuel leak." Disaster response operations
"The company implemented strict safety controls to mitigate the financial risk of industrial accidents." Corporate risk evaluation

Memory hook

MITigate makes a harsh situation MILD and manageable. Softening the blow.

When not to use

Do not confuse with 'militate' (which means to work against an outcome, e.g., 'militate against').

Fun facts

In criminal justice, 'mitigating circumstances' are facts that do not justify a crime but make the offender less blameworthy.