Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Mitigate
Mit′i-gate
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Mitigated
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Mitigating
.] [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
. Webster 1828 Edition
Mitigate
MIT'IGATE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To alleviate, as suffering; to assuage; to lessen; as, to mitigate pain or grief. And counsel mitigates the greatest smart.
2.
To make less severe; as, to mitigate doom.3.
To abate; to make less rigorous; to moderate; as, to mitigate cold; to mitigate the severity of the season.4.
To temper; to moderate; to soften in harshness or severity. We could wish that the rigor of their opinions were allayed and mitigated.
5.
To calm; to appease; to moderate; as, to mitigate the fierceness of party.6.
To diminish; to render more tolerable; as, to mitigate the evils or calamities of life; to mitigate punishment.7.
To reduce in amount or severity; as, to mitigate a penalty.8.
To soften, or make mild and accessible; in a literal sense. It was this opinion which mitigated kings into companions. [Unusual.]
Definition 2024
mitigate
mitigate
English
Verb
mitigate (third-person singular simple present mitigates, present participle mitigating, simple past and past participle mitigated)
- (transitive) To reduce, lessen, or decrease.
- 1795 — George Washington, Seventh State of the Union Address
- Measures are pursuing to prevent or mitigate the usual consequences of such outrages, and with the hope of their succeeding at least to avert general hostility.
- 1813 — James Madison, Fifth State of the Union Address
- But in yielding to it the retaliation has been mitigated as much as possible, both in its extent and in its character...
- 1896 — Walter Hadwen, The Case Against Vaccination
- Then they tell us that vaccination will mitigate the disease that it will make it milder.
- 1901 — H. G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon, ch 7
- Then I discovered the brilliance of the landscape around was mitigated by blue spectacles.
- 1920 — H. P. Lovecraft, The Cats of Ulthar
- The plague had not been kind to him, yet had left him this small furry thing to mitigate his sorrow; and when one is very young, one can find great relief in the lively antics of a black kitten.
- 1795 — George Washington, Seventh State of the Union Address
- (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
Antonyms
- (to reduce or lessen): aggrandize, aggravate, exacerbate, incite, increase, intensify, irritate, worsen
Coordinate terms
Related terms
Translations
to reduce, lessen, or decrease
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