MITIGATE

mitigate

(verb) make less severe or harsh; “mitigating circumstances”

extenuate, palliate, mitigate

(verb) lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; “The circumstances extenuate the crime”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

mitigate (third-person singular simple present mitigates, present participle mitigating, simple past and past participle mitigated)

(transitive) To reduce, lessen, or decrease; to make less severe or easier to bear.

(transitive) To downplay.

Usage notes

Particularly used as mitigate a problem or flaw. Contrast with ameliorate (“make better”).

This word is often misused to mean “operate” or “influence”. For this meaning, the correct word is militate, followed by “against” or “in favour of”. Mitigate is never followed by these expressions.

Synonyms

• (to reduce or lessen): alleviate, check, diminish, ease, lighten, mollify, pacify, palliate

Antonyms

• (to reduce or lessen): aggrandize, aggravate, exacerbate, incite, increase, intensify, irritate, worsen

Coordinate terms

• ameliorate

Source: Wiktionary

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Mit"i*gate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mitigated; p. pr. & vb. n. Mitigating.] Etym: [L. mitigatus, p.p. of mitigare to soften, mitigate; mitis mild, soft + the root of agere to do, drive.]

1. To make less severe, intense, harsh, rigorous, painful, etc.; to soften; to meliorate; to alleviate; to diminish; to lessen; as, to mitigate heat or cold; to mitigate grief.

2. To make mild and accessible; to mollify; -- applied to persons. [Obs.] This opinion ... mitigated kings into companions. Burke.

Syn.

– To alleviate; assuage; allay. See Alleviate.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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