mitigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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mitigates,
present (3rd person singular)
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mitigated,
past participle, past
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mitigating
present participle
-
to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate.
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to make less severe.
to mitigate a punishment.
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to reduce the risk or impact of harmful conditions or events.
To mitigate flood damage, new building regulations are being developed.
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to make (a person, one's state of mind, disposition, etc.) milder or more gentle; mollify; appease.
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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)
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mitigates,
present (3rd person singular)
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mitigated,
past participle, past
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mitigating
present participle
verb
Usage
Mitigate is sometimes wrongly used where militate is meant: his behaviour militates (not mitigates ) against his chances of promotion
Commonly Confused
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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mitigationnoun
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mitigatornoun
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overmitigateverb
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mitigableadjective
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mitigativeadjective
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unmitigableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mitigatesimple
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mitigatessimple
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have mitigatedperfect
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has mitigatedperfect
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am mitigatingprogressive
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are mitigatingprogressive
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is mitigatingprogressive
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have been mitigatingperfect progressive
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has been mitigatingperfect progressive
Past
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mitigatedsimple
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had mitigatedperfect
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was mitigatingprogressive
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were mitigatingprogressive
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had been mitigatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mitigate
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English mitigaten, from Latin mītigātus (past participle of mītigāre “to calm, soften, soothe”), equivalent to mīt(is) “mild, soft, gentle” + -ig- (combining form of agere “to do, cause to do, make”) + -ātus verb suffix; see -ate 1
Explanation
Choose the verb mitigate when something lessens the unpleasantness of a situation. You can mitigate your parents' anger by telling them you were late to dinner because you were helping your elderly neighbor. The somewhat formal verb mitigate comes from the Latin roots mītis, "soft," and agere, "to do/act," which add up to "to soften." It is often used with words that indicate an outcome or something harmful. When you buy car insurance, you are trying to mitigate the risks involved with driving. Sunscreen is used to mitigate the effects of the sun on your skin.
Vocabulary lists containing mitigate
Grade 10, List 6
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This Week in Words: August 25 - 31, 2018
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This Week in Words: October 6 - 12, 2018
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The hotel’s medical director, Dr. Massimiliano Mayrhofer, assured me that Palace Merano’s combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western science, along with an anti-inflammatory diet, could mitigate some of my menopause woes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
“These types of threats are not going away, so we need to find a way to mitigate it,” said Joseph Lestrange, a former division chief at Homeland Security Investigations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
"When we plan for longer journeys in space - for example to Mars countermeasures may be needed to mitigate negative effects of space travel on the intestines," says Giorgia La Barbera.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
"We are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk," the post said.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Because for a private citizen to become a prince presupposes virtue or Fortune, it appears that either the one or the other of these two things should partially mitigate many of the problems.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
“The company expects inventory levels to remain elevated as it mitigates this dynamic supply chain environment,” the company said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Moore said the facility has remained at 45 degrees, which mitigates the risk of it becoming a biohazard due to food spoilage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
While China relies on oil imports, "it mitigates this exposure through diversified suppliers, ties with Iran, substantial strategic reserves and continued reliance on coal", she said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
But he added that the products Arm designs for that part of the market come with “dramatically smaller royalties,” which mitigates the potential impact on Arm’s business.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
And my jaw hers betokening a will, Hers too, with chin that mitigates the will, Shading to softness as hers did.
From Domesday Book by Edgar Lee Masters
"You don't want to stifle innovation," Thune said on Monday, "but I think you also want to make sure that the more advanced threats can be mitigated."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
OpenAI founder Sam Altman and others have said that many of today’s diseases could be mitigated if not cured in the next decade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Rising component costs are mitigated given Apple’s bargaining power against consumers and the supply chain.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
“They can only be mitigated by all of us working together.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
With that help, the chaos that had brought him to this cage would be reined in and the misunderstanding manifested here would be mitigated.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
It depends on where you live, however, as there are many mitigating factors when it comes to filing for Chapter 7.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Richard Stone, from the space forecasting team, said it allowed them "to diagnose anything that's happening on the Sun's surface, provide a forecast and alert the relevant users to be able to take mitigating actions".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
"The limited extension during this period makes a temporary contribution to mitigating the exposure of the electricity system and Spanish consumers to previously unforeseen price spikes," said the announcement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“There may be costs associated with mitigating these issues,” said Kevin Stahl, Braham’s city administrator and police chief, “however, at this time I cannot even estimate a cost.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
“I don’t believe anything you tell me,” Nately replied, with a bashful mitigating smile.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
