Mitigate - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: Mitigate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mit·i·gate

Audio Help [mit-i-geyt] Pronunciation Key verb, -gat·ed, -gat·ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate.

2.	to make less severe: to mitigate a punishment.

3.	to make (a person, one's state of mind, disposition, etc.) milder or more gentle; mollify; appease.

–verb (used without object)

4.	to become milder; lessen in severity.

[Origin: 1375–1425; late ME mitigaten < L mītigātus (ptp. of mītigāre to calm, soften, soothe), equiv. to mīt(is) mild, soft, gentle + -ig- (comb. form of agere to do, cause to do, make) + -ātus -ate¹

]

—Related forms

mit·i·ga·ble

Audio Help [mit-i-guh-buh

l] Pronunciation Key, adjective

mit·i·gat·ed·ly, adverb

mit·i·ga·tion, noun

mit·i·ga·tive, mit·i·ga·to·ry

Audio Help [mit-i-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] Pronunciation Key, adjective

mit·i·ga·tor, noun

—Usage note Mitigate, whose central meaning is “to lessen” or “make less severe,” is sometimes confused with militate, “to have effect or influence,” in the phrase mitigate against: This criticism in no way militates (not mitigates) 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Mitigate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mit·i·gate Audio Help   (mĭt'ĭgāt') Pronunciation Key
v.   mit·i·gat·ed, mit·i·gat·ing, mit·i·gates

v.   tr.
To moderate (a quality or condition) in force or intensity; alleviate. See Synonyms at relieve.

v.   intr.
To become milder.

[Middle English mitigaten, from Latin mītigāre, mītigāt- : mītis, soft + agere, to drive, do; see act.]

mit'i·ga·ble (-gə-bəl) adj., mit'i·ga'tion n., mit'i·ga'tive, mit'i·ga·to'ry (-gə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj., mit'i·ga'tor n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mitigate

1432, from L. mitigatus, pp. of mitigare "make mild or gentle," ult. from mitis "gentle, soft" + root of agere "do, make, act" (see act). First element is from PIE base *mei- "soft, mild." Mitigation is attested from 1362.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

mitigate
verb
1.	lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime" [syn: extenuate]
2.	make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Mitigate

Al*le"vi*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alleviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alleviating.] [LL. alleviare, fr. L. ad + levis light. See Alegge, Levity.]

1. To lighten or lessen the force or weight of. [Obs.]

Should no others join capable to alleviate the expense. --Evelyn.

Those large bladders . . . conduce much to the alleviating of the body [of flying birds]. --Ray.

2. To lighten or lessen (physical or mental troubles); to mitigate, or make easier to be endured; as, to alleviate sorrow, pain, care, etc.; -- opposed to aggravate.

The calamity of the want of the sense of hearing is much alleviated by giving the use of letters. --Bp. Horsley.

3. To extenuate; to palliate. [R.]

He alleviates his fault by an excuse. --Johnson.

Syn: To lessen; diminish; soften; mitigate; assuage; abate; relieve; nullify; allay.

Usage: To Alleviate, Mitigate, Assuage, Allay. These words have in common the idea of relief from some painful state; and being all figurative, they differ in their application, according to the image under which this idea is presented. Alleviate supposes a load which is lightened or taken off; as, to alleviate one's cares. Mitigate supposes something fierce which is made mild; as, to mitigate one's anguish. Assuage supposes something violent which is quieted; as, to assuage one's sorrow. Allay supposes something previously excited, but now brought down; as, to allay one's suffering or one's thirst. To alleviate the distresses of life; to mitigate the fierceness of passion or the violence of grief; to assuage angry feeling; to allay wounded sensibility.

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