MITIGATE Definition & Meaning

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mitigate

[ mit-i-geyt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

mitigated, mitigating.

to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate.
to make less severe:
to mitigate a punishment.
to reduce the risk or impact of harmful conditions or events:
To mitigate flood damage, new building regulations are being developed.
to make (a person, one's state of mind, disposition, etc.) milder or more gentle; mollify; appease.
Environmental Science. to restore or recreate (a habitat) in order to make up for losses due to development or agriculture:
No one has tried anything on this scale before to mitigate the grasslands bird habitat.

verb (used without object)

mitigated, mitigating.

to become milder; lessen in severity.

mitigate

/ ˈmɪtɪɡəbəl; ˈmɪtɪˌɡeɪt /

verb

to make or become less severe or harsh; moderate

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Usage

Mitigate is sometimes wrongly used where militate is meant: his behaviour militates (not mitigates ) against his chances of promotion

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Confusables Note

Mitigate, whose central meaning is “to lessen” or “to make less severe,” is sometimes confused with militate, which means “to have effect or influence; weigh on.” This mix-up often occurs in the use of the phrase mitigate against, as follows: This criticism in no way mitigates (read militates ) against your going ahead with your research. Although this use of mitigate occasionally occurs in edited writing, it is rare and is widely regarded as an error.

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Derived Forms

ˌ��پ�ˈ��پ��ǲ�, noun
ˈ��پ�ˌ��پ��, adjective
ˈ��پ�ˌ��ٴǰ�, noun
mitigable, adjective

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��·��·��·�� [mit, -i-g, uh, -b, uh, l], adjective
��·��·��·�پ��ǲ� [mit-i-, gey, -sh, uh, n], noun
��·��·��·�ٴǰ� noun
��·��·��·��·��ٱ� verb overmitigated overmitigating
un·��·��·��·�� adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of mitigate¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English mitigaten, from Latin ��ī�پ��ٳܲ� (past participle of ��ī�پ�� “to calm, soften, soothe”), equivalent to ��ī��(��) “mild, soft, gentle” + -ig- (combining form of agere “to do, cause to do, make”) + -��ٳܲ� verb suffix; -ate ¹

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of mitigate¹

C15: from Latin ��ī�پ��, from ��ī�پ�� mild + agere to make

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Possibly because the New Deal and the early post-World War II economic consensus mitigated the worst economic disparities, left-wing populism has ceased to be a political force in the last 75 years.

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Mr Hanrahan says: "I am hoping that the UK government is preparing for that and putting something in place to mitigate any form of product dumping in the UK and in the EU."

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"We will do all we can to mitigate the effects on our students of any industrial action."

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It added that numerous steps had been taken to mitigate harm to civilians.

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That is unlikely to mitigate the overall negative growth impact of Trump's salvo though.

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