mitigation

noun

mit·​i·​ga·​tion ˌmi-tə-ˈgā-shən 

plural mitigations

: the act of mitigating something or the state of being mitigated : the process or result of making something less severe, dangerous, painful, harsh, or damaging

mitigation of suffering

mitigation of punishment

There was, in sum, a period during the Cold War … when a mitigation of the Cold War, including a renegotiation of some of its most troublesome tensions, was possible or even probable.

—John Lukacs

Examples of mitigation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With water mitigation in mind—the resort utilizes a floating pontoon for transport between Batok and Ter Bays in place of a concrete pier, which would damage the flourishing marine ecology beneath the surface. —Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 June 2024

For Shanahan, special teams is an area of the game that doesn’t require innovation, but rather mitigation. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 3 June 2024

Dozens of residents urged councilmembers to pass the ordinance, which calls for further mitigation efforts to minimize fugitive dust, such as a 5% opacity limit on the operator's premises and requiring air monitors on certain sites to help with compliance. —Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press, 21 May 2024

The agency calculated that even with mitigation measures in place, the mine was likely to exceed the allowable cancer risk. —Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 10 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

mitigation

noun

mit·​i·​ga·​tion ˌmit-ə-ˈgā-shən 

1

: the act of mitigating or state of being mitigated

the cure, prevention, or mitigation of disease

—Encyclopedia Americana

2

: something that mitigates

a large number of drugs and mitigations … at the clinic

—The Journal of the American Medical Association