mitigate
MIT-ih-gate
/ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/
To make less severe, serious, or painful; to lessen the gravity of an offense or mistake.
Does not mean to solve or eliminate a problem, but to reduce its impact.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'mitigare,' which literally means 'to make mild' or 'to make soft.' It's related to the word 'mild.'
Word relationships
- alleviate: Alleviate is often used for physical pain or suffering; mitigate is more common for risks, impacts, or legal penalties.
- assuage: Assuage is usually used for emotions like guilt, fear, or hunger.
- exacerbate: To make a problem or situation worse.
- aggravate: To make something more serious or severe.
Commonly confused with
- militate: Militate means to work against something (e.g., 'circumstances militate against success'); mitigate means to soften something.
Word family
- mitigation (noun): The action of reducing the severity of something.
- mitigatory (adjective): Tending to mitigate.
Collocations
- mitigate the risk
- mitigate the impact
- mitigate the effects
Example sentences
- "New technologies can help mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture." Environmental policy
- "The lawyer argued that the defendant's difficult childhood should mitigate his sentence." Legal context
Memory hook
Think of a 'Mitt' (like a baseball glove) that 'mitigates' the sting of the fast-moving ball. Softening the blow.
When not to use
Don't use when you mean 'to stop' something entirely; use when you are just softening the blow.
Fun facts
- In environmental law, 'mitigation banking' is a system where developers can buy 'credits' from restored wetlands to offset the damage they cause elsewhere.
Related words
Explore more words
mitigation, reduce, extenuation, de-escalate, assuage, palliative
Also appears in
- Leadership → Adaptability in Crisis
- Conflict → Pacification & Appeasement
- Business → Project Management
- Technology → Cybersecurity & Privacy
- Finance → Speculation & Risk Management
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Carbon Footprint & Emissions
- 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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