What does mitigate mean?
Mitigate means to make a harmful situation, effect, or consequence less severe. It is especially common in discussions of risks, problems, environmental damage, economic difficulties, and safety concerns: a treatment may mitigate pain, new infrastructure may mitigate flooding, or financial support may mitigate the effects of unemployment. The verb has a formal tone and suggests reduction rather than complete elimination. It is typically followed by a direct object naming the problem or its effects, as in “mitigate the risk” or “mitigate damage.” Although “mitigate against” is also encountered, the shorter direct construction is usually clearer. The word is valuable because it distinguishes efforts that lessen a difficulty from those that resolve it entirely. Its Latin origin, from mitigare, meaning “to make mild,” also reflects its central sense of turning something harsh or damaging into something less intense.
verbTo make something less severe, harmful, or difficult. Mitigate is typically used for problems, risks, impacts, damage, or adverse effects.
- To reduce the severity, harmful effects, or difficulty of a situation or condition.
"The new safety measures helped mitigate the risk of flooding."
"Careful planning can mitigate many of the risks associated with the project."
"The minister said that additional funding would help mitigate the impact of the economic downturn."
Mitigate comes from the Latin verb mitigare, literally “to make mild,” so the word has always meant turning something harsh into something gentler.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mitigate come from?
Mitigate entered English in the early 17th century from the Latin verb mitigare, meaning “to make mild” or “to soften.” The Latin verb was formed from mitis, an adjective meaning “mild,” together with a verbal suffix. The same root underlies English mild and mildness, while mitigation and mitigator developed directly from the same Latin family.
Related word forms
How mitigate is actually used
Mitigate is a formal word commonly used in government, business, legal, environmental, and safety-related contexts. It is normally transitive: “mitigate the risk,” not “mitigate the risk against.” The phrase “mitigate against” is also established, although the direct construction “mitigate the risk” is usually more concise.
Easily confused with mitigate
To mitigate is to make a problem or harmful effect less severe, whereas to militate means to operate or argue against something.