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mitigate

verb
mit·​i·​gate | \ ˈmi-tə-ˌgāt How to pronounce mitigate (audio) \
mitigated; mitigating

Definition of mitigate

transitive verb

1 : to cause to become less harsh or hostile : mollify aggressiveness may be mitigated or … channeled— Ashley Montagu
2a : to make less severe or painful : alleviate mitigate a patient's suffering
b : extenuate attempted to mitigate the offense
Other Words from mitigate Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Mitigate vs. Militate: Usage Guide mitigate or militate? More Example Sentences Learn More about mitigate

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Other Words from mitigate

mitigative \ ˈmi-​tə-​ˌgā-​tiv How to pronounce mitigative (audio) \ adjective
mitigator \ ˈmi-​tə-​ˌgā-​tər How to pronounce mitigator (audio) \ noun
mitigatory \ ˈmi-​ti-​gə-​ˌtȯr-​ē How to pronounce mitigatory (audio) \ adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms for mitigate

Synonyms

allay, alleviate, assuage, ease, help, mollify, palliate, relieve, soothe

Antonyms

aggravate, exacerbate

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Choose the Right Synonym for mitigate

relieve, alleviate, lighten, assuage, mitigate, allay mean to make something less grievous. relieve implies a lifting of enough of a burden to make it tolerable. took an aspirin to relieve the pain alleviate implies temporary or partial lessening of pain or distress. the lotion alleviated the itching lighten implies reducing a burdensome or depressing weight. good news would lighten our worries assuage implies softening or sweetening what is harsh or disagreeable. ocean breezes assuaged the intense heat mitigate suggests a moderating or countering of the effect of something violent or painful. the need to mitigate barbaric laws allay implies an effective calming or soothing of fears or alarms. allayed their fears

Mitigate vs. Militate: Usage Guide

Mitigate is sometimes used as an intransitive (followed by against) where militate might be expected. Even though Faulkner used it some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him — William Faulkner and one critic thinks it should be called an American idiom, it is usually considered a mistake.

mitigate or militate?

Would it be correct to say, "His boyish appearance mitigated against his getting an early promotion"? Most usage commentators would say "no." They feel such examples demonstrate a long-standing confusion between mitigate and the look-alike militate. Those two words are not closely related etymologically (mitigate descends from the Latin verb mitigare, meaning "to soften," whereas militate traces to militare, another Latin verb that means "to engage in warfare"), nor are they particularly close in meaning (militate means "to have weight or effect"). The confusion between the two has existed for long enough that one commentator thinks "mitigate against" should be accepted as an idiomatic alternative to militate, but if you want to avoid criticism, you should keep mitigate and militate distinct.

Examples of mitigate in a Sentence

At the far end of the room is a sliding glass door, taped with an X to mitigate shattering. The framing is flimsy, and rattles from mortar rounds even a half mile away. — William Langewiesche, Atlantic, May 2005 … a genre novel whose inevitable cinematic ending doesn't mitigate the visceral and emotional power of what has come before. It lingers in the memory like a very bad dream. — Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books, 14 Aug. 2003 For 65 holes Norman dominated the classic rolling fairways and small, subtle greens of Olympic … with driving and iron play so solid that it mitigated mediocre putting. — Jaime Diaz, Sports Illustrated, 8 Nov. 1993 Emergency funds are being provided to help mitigate the effects of the disaster. medicines used to mitigate a patient's suffering
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Microsoft last month pushed a silent update that mitigated a serious vulnerability in all CPUs Intel has introduced since 2012, researchers who discovered the flaw said Tuesday. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Silent Windows update patched side channel that leaked data from Intel CPUs," 6 Aug. 2019 To try and mitigate the noise, Hollywood Burbank officials are in the middle of organizing a task force. — Anthony Clark Carpio, Burbank Leader, "FAA acknowledges flights out of Hollywood Burbank Airport have moved south," 2 Aug. 2019 Huawei anticipated the ban and made additional purchases from US suppliers to build up its inventory, meaning the American companies got a bump in sales that mitigated declines. — Clare Duffy, CNN, "The trade war with China is coming for the American computer industry," 2 Aug. 2019 The use of different techniques in accordance with the five elements in the form of colors and/or metals can mitigate the negative effect, said Rana. — Rose Meily, The Mercury News, "Real deal: Vastu seeks to harmonize the home with nature," 2 Aug. 2019 Dan Lafferty, a deputy director with Public Works, said the department has made every effort to address and mitigate issues going into the project and as they’re raised by residents and local officials. — Sara Cardine, La Cañada Valley Sun, "Dirt from Devil’s Gate haulers causes dust-up among locals, county," 31 July 2019 Meanwhile, parts of Flagstaff are still recovering and mitigating from catastrophic flooding that started at the burn scars of fires like this. — Andrew Nicla, azcentral, "Rain helps but poses risks for firefighters as Museum Fire near Flagstaff burns 1,887 acres," 24 July 2019 Lack of funding for border water infrastructure projects has been one of the biggest hurdles in mitigating cross-border pollution flows, which is why the San Diego lawmakers introduced this legislative package. — Gustavo Solis, San Diego Union-Tribune, "San Diego representatives want $2 billion to help stop cross-border sewage flows," 22 July 2019 Jenner, who has mitigated his partying ways over the years, set Pratt off by declining to join him and a pod of young models in any of several rounds of tequila shots downed around lunchtime on a Tuesday. — Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, "“The Hills: New Beginnings” and Our Warped American Reality," 17 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mitigate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of mitigate

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for mitigate

Middle English, from Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare to soften, from mitis soft + -igare (akin to Latin agere to drive); akin to Old Irish moíth soft — more at agent

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More Definitions for mitigate

mitigate

verb
How to pronounce mitigate (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of mitigate

formal : to make (something) less severe, harmful, or painful

See the full definition for mitigate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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