mitigate
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowing from Latin mītigātus, from mītigō, from mītis (“ripe, mature”) + agō (“do, make”), from Proto-Indo-European *meH1i (“mild, soft”).[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
- (to reduce or lessen): aggrandize, aggravate, exacerbate, incite, increase, intensify, irritate, worsen
Coordinate terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to reduce, lessen, or decrease
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References[edit]
Italian[edit]
Verb[edit]
mitigate
- second-person plural present indicative of mitigare
- second-person plural imperative of mitigare
- feminine plural of mitigato
Latin[edit]
Participle[edit]
mītigāte
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian verb forms
- Italian past participle forms
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin participle forms
