Mitigate Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of MITIGATE is to cause to become less harsh or hostile : mollify. How to use mitigate in a sentence. Did you know? mitigate or militate? Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut mitigate verb SaveWord mit·​i·​gate |\ˈmi-tə-ˌgāt \ mitigated;mitigating Definitionofmitigate transitiveverb 1 :tocausetobecomelessharshorhostile:mollify aggressivenessmaybemitigatedor…channeled—AshleyMontagu 2a :tomakelesssevereorpainful:alleviate mitigateapatient'ssuffering b :extenuate attemptedtomitigatetheoffense OtherWordsfrommitigate Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym Mitigatevs.Militate:UsageGuide Didyouknow? mitigateormilitate? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutmitigate OtherWordsfrommitigate mitigative \ ˈmi-​tə-​ˌgā-​tiv \ adjective mitigator \ ˈmi-​tə-​ˌgā-​tər \ noun mitigatory \ ˈmi-​ti-​gə-​ˌtȯr-​ē \ adjective Synonyms&Antonymsformitigate Synonyms allay,alleviate,assuage,ease,help,mollify,palliate,relieve,soothe Antonyms aggravate,exacerbate VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymformitigate relieve,alleviate,lighten,assuage,mitigate,allaymeantomakesomethinglessgrievous.relieveimpliesaliftingofenoughofaburdentomakeittolerable. tookanaspirintorelievethepain alleviateimpliestemporaryorpartiallesseningofpainordistress. thelotionalleviatedtheitching lightenimpliesreducingaburdensomeordepressingweight. goodnewswouldlightenourworries assuageimpliessofteningorsweeteningwhatisharshordisagreeable. oceanbreezesassuagedtheintenseheat mitigatesuggestsamoderatingorcounteringoftheeffectofsomethingviolentorpainful. theneedtomitigatebarbariclaws allayimpliesaneffectivecalmingorsoothingoffearsoralarms. allayedtheirfears Mitigatevs.Militate:UsageGuide Mitigateissometimesusedasanintransitive(followedbyagainst)wheremilitatemightbeexpected.EventhoughFaulknerusedit someintangibleandinvisiblesocialforcethatmitigatesagainsthim —WilliamFaulkner andonecriticthinksitshouldbecalledanAmericanidiom,itisusuallyconsideredamistake. Didyouknow? Themeaningofmitigateisstraightforwardenough:itismostoftenusedtotalkaboutmakingsomething,suchasaproblem,symptom,orpunishment,lessharshorsevere.Sometimes,however,itappearswherethesimilar-lookingmilitateisexpected.Thatword,whichisoftenfollowedbyagainst,means"tohaveweightoreffect,"asin"yourunexcusedabsencesmightmilitateagainstyourgettingapromotion."Thetwowordsarenotcloselyrelatedetymologically(mitigatedescendsfromtheLatinverbmitigare,meaning"tosoften,"whereasmilitatetracestomilitare,anotherLatinverbthatmeans"toengageinwarfare"),buttheconfusionbetweenthetwohasexistedforlongenoughthatsomeusagecommentatorshaveaccepted"mitigateagainst"asanidiomaticalternativetomilitate.Ifyouwanttoavoidcriticism,youshouldkeepmitigateandmilitatedistinct. mitigateormilitate? Woulditbecorrecttosay,"Hisboyishappearancemitigatedagainsthisgettinganearlypromotion"?Mostusagecommentatorswouldsay"no."Theyfeelsuchexamplesdemonstratealong-standingconfusionbetweenmitigateandthelook-alikemilitate.Thosetwowordsarenotcloselyrelatedetymologically(mitigatedescendsfromtheLatinverbmitigare,meaning"tosoften,"whereasmilitatetracestomilitare,anotherLatinverbthatmeans"toengageinwarfare"),noraretheyparticularlycloseinmeaning(militatemeans"tohaveweightoreffect").Theconfusionbetweenthetwohasexistedforlongenoughthatonecommentatorthinks"mitigateagainst"shouldbeacceptedasanidiomaticalternativetomilitate,butifyouwanttoavoidcriticism,youshouldkeepmitigateandmilitatedistinct. ExamplesofmitigateinaSentence Atthefarendoftheroomisaslidingglassdoor,tapedwithanXtomitigateshattering.Theframingisflimsy,andrattlesfrommortarroundsevenahalfmileaway. —WilliamLangewiesche,Atlantic,May2005 …agenrenovelwhoseinevitablecinematicendingdoesn'tmitigatethevisceralandemotionalpowerofwhathascomebefore.Itlingersinthememorylikeaverybaddream. —JoyceCarolOates,NewYorkReviewofBooks,14Aug.2003 For65holesNormandominatedtheclassicrollingfairwaysandsmall,subtlegreensofOlympic…withdrivingandironplaysosolidthatitmitigatedmediocreputting. —JaimeDiaz,SportsIllustrated,8Nov.1993 Emergencyfundsarebeingprovidedtohelpmitigatetheeffectsofthedisaster. medicinesusedtomitigateapatient'ssuffering RecentExamplesontheWeb TheUnitedStatesPatentandTrademarkOfficewillexpeditepatentapplications,atnoextracharge,forinventionsthatpromisetomitigateclimatechange,itsdirectorannouncedthismonth. — JeffMcmahon,Forbes,30June2022 ThishasaleaderatHarmReductionOhio,whichworkstoreduceoverdoses,concernedaboutwhetherthemoneywillbeactuallyspenttomitigatetheeffectsoftheopioidcrisis. — LauraHancock,cleveland,29June2022 Yetpoliticalpoliciesofglobalgovernmentsaren’tnearlyenoughtomitigatethesedangers,makingourindividualactionsfeel,well,powerless. — ColleenDeBellefonds,SELF,27June2022 However,fakenewsandmisinformationonclimatechangeisinterferingwithhowthescientificcommunityengageswithpeopleinterestedinmakinglifestylechangestomitigatetheeffectsofclimatechange. — DongwookKim,ScientificAmerican,27June2022 KnowingyourstrengthsandweaknessesandhowtomitigatethoseweaknessesgoesalongwayinBB. — DaltonRoss,EW.com,25June2022 Theslowfadingofthepandemichascoincidedwithahistoricsurgeininflation,spurringfoodmanufacturerstomitigatecontinuingsupply-chainchallengesandsurgingraw-materialscostswithpriceincreasesonfood. — DeanSeal,WSJ,16June2022 Ingrantingthevariancetothephosphoruslimit,stateagenciesarerequiringNorthDavisSewertomitigatephragmitesinFarmingtonBay. — LeiaLarsen,TheSaltLakeTribune,4June2022 TheconsentdecreerequiresDrummondtopay$2.65millionincourtcostsand$1millionforasupplementalenvironmentalprojecttomitigatetheeffectsofpastpollution,plussetasidefundstooperatetreatmentsystemsforatleast30years. — FromUsaTodayNetworkAndWireReports,USATODAY,1June2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'mitigate.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofmitigate 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyformitigate MiddleEnglish,fromLatinmitigatus,pastparticipleofmitigaretosoften,frommitissoft+-igare(akintoLatinageretodrive);akintoOldIrishmoíthsoft—moreatagent LearnMoreAboutmitigate Sharemitigate PosttheDefinitionofmitigatetoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofmitigateonTwitter TimeTravelerformitigate Thefirstknownuseofmitigatewas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury ListentoOurPodcastAboutmitigate ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearmitigate mitigant mitigate mitigatedly SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsformitigate LastUpdated 4Jul2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Mitigate.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mitigate.Accessed9Jul.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsformitigate mitigate transitiveverb mit·​i·​gate |\ˈmit-ə-ˌgāt \ mitigated;mitigating Medical Definitionofmitigate :tomakelesssevereorpainful mitigate verb mit·​i·​gate |\ˈmi-tə-ˌgāt \ mitigated;mitigating Legal Definitionofmitigate transitiveverb :tolessenorminimizetheseverityof whatactionstheStatetooktomitigatethehazardousconditions—EstateofArrowwoodv.State,894P.2d642(1995)factorsthatmitigatethecrime —seealsomitigationofdamagessense1—compareaggravate intransitiveverb :tolessenorminimizetheseverityofone'slossesordamage afailuretomitigate OtherWordsfrommitigate mitigation \ ˌmi-​tə-​ˈgā-​shən \ noun mitigative \ ˈmi-​tə-​ˌgā-​tiv \ adjective MorefromMerriam-Websteronmitigate Nglish:TranslationofmitigateforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofmitigateforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY behemoth SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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