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mitigate

MIT-ih-gayt /ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/

verbC1GREGMATSATACTCATUPSC

academicbusinesslegalenvironmental

To make something bad less severe, serious, or painful.

Focuses on reducing the impact or severity of a negative event, rather than eliminating it entirely.

The story behind the word. From Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare 'to soften, make mild,' from mitis (gentle, mild) + agere (to make, do). It's the linguistic equivalent of pouring oil on troubled waters.

Word relationships

alleviate: Alleviate usually refers to physical pain or suffering, while mitigate is broader and often used for risks, financial losses, or environmental impacts.

exacerbate: Exacerbate means to make a problem or bad situation much worse.

Commonly confused with

militate: Militate (usually followed by 'against') means to have a powerful effect or force against something, whereas mitigate means to soften or reduce severity.

Word family

mitigation (noun): The action of reducing the severity of something.
mitigative (adjective): Serving to mitigate.

Collocations

mitigate risk
mitigate damage
mitigate the effects

Idioms & expressions

soften the blow

Example sentences

"The company installed backup generators to mitigate the risk of power outages during storms." Risk management

Memory hook

Think of 'mitigating' a crisis as putting a 'mitt' (glove) on a cold hand to make the cold less 'severe'. Making a harsh situation mild.

When not to use

Do not use when you mean to solve a problem completely; mitigate is about softening the blow.

Fun facts

In criminal law, 'mitigating circumstances' are factors that do not excuse a crime but may reduce the severity of the punishment.