mitigating circumstances

British

plural noun

circumstances that may be considered to lessen the culpability of an offender

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

“She feels horrible about all of this. Nobody wants to be in the chain of causation,” Geragos said, adding that he will present evidence of mitigating circumstances at her Dec. 10 sentencing.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025

There were some mitigating circumstances for England's lethargic display.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025

He looked through thousands of pages of this very complex, highly contested record, purported to weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, decided which were true and false, and drew his own conclusions.

From Slate • May 31, 2024

Daybell’s defense, meanwhile, will try to provide the jury with mitigating circumstances that could show the panel a lighter sentence is more appropriate.

From Seattle Times • May 30, 2024

This, however, is a plea for the consideration of mitigating circumstances, not an assertion that the crime of murder is in any circumstances justifiable.

From The Book of This and That by Lynd, Robert

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023