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Definition of mitigate
mitigated
;mitigating
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mitigate was our Word of the Day on 11/08/2013. Hear the podcast!
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Is mitigate against correct?
Mitigate is sometimes used as an intransitive (followed by against) where militate might be expected. Even though Faulkner used it some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him — William Faulkner and one critic thinks it should be called an American idiom, it is usually considered a mistake.
Examples of mitigate in a Sentence
At the far end of the room is a sliding glass door, taped with an X to mitigate shattering. The framing is flimsy, and rattles from mortar rounds even a half mile away. —William Langewiesche, Atlantic, May 2005
… a genre novel whose inevitable cinematic ending doesn't mitigate the visceral and emotional power of what has come before. It lingers in the memory like a very bad dream. —Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books, 14 Aug. 2003
For 65 holes Norman dominated the classic rolling fairways and small, subtle greens of Olympic … with driving and iron play so solid that it mitigated mediocre putting. —Jaime Diaz, Sports Illustrated, 8 Nov. 1993
Emergency funds are being provided to help mitigate the effects of the disaster.
medicines used to mitigate a patient's suffering
Recent Examples of mitigate from the Web
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After the U.S. decision to leave the Paris climate change agreement, Beijing has suggested that China will take on a leadership role in mitigating global warming.
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Carr, by doing this deal, is forgoing an annual salary of $977,519 and a franchise tag in 2018, while mitigating plenty of injury risk.
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People accused of first-degree murder couldn't use that claim as a mitigating factor to reduce their possible punishment.
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The DEIS suggests ways the city could mitigate the negative effects, such as a new bridge across the Lake Washington Ship Canal to absorb traffic.
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Still, macro-prudential and housing policy measures will help mitigate this vulnerability over time.
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Trump’s Monday tweetstorm is yet another example of that first trait mitigating the destructive potential of the latter one.
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Having a roof over her family’s head mitigates the nuisance of roaches and rats.
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At 3:23 p.m., BGE had mitigated the leak, fire vehicles were leaving and the Sheriff's Office was preparing to reopen the road, Fire & EMS spokespersons Rich Gardiner and Jenn Chenworth reported on Facebook.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mitigate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
mitigate or militate?
Would it be correct to say, "His boyish appearance mitigated against his getting an early promotion"? Most usage commentators would say "no." They feel such examples demonstrate a long-standing confusion between mitigate and the look-alike militate. Those two words are not closely related etymologically (mitigate descends from the Latin verb mitigare, meaning "to soften," whereas militate traces to militare, another Latin verb that means "to engage in warfare"), nor are they particularly close in meaning (militate means "to have weight or effect"). The confusion between the two has existed for long enough that one commentator thinks "mitigate against" should be accepted as an idiomatic alternative to militate, but if you want to avoid criticism, you should keep mitigate and militate distinct.
Origin and Etymology of mitigate
Middle English, from Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare to soften, from mitis soft + -igare (akin to Latin agere to drive); akin to Old Irish moíth soft — more at agent
Synonym Discussion of mitigate
MITIGATE Defined for English Language Learners
mitigate
playDefinition of mitigate for English Language Learners
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: to make (something) less severe, harmful, or painful
Medical Dictionary
mitigate
playMedical Definition of mitigate
mitigated
;mitigating
: to make less severe or painful
Law Dictionary
mitigate
playLegal Definition of mitigate
mitigated
mitigating
transitive verb
intransitive verb
Learn More about mitigate
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See words that rhyme with mitigate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mitigate Spanish Central: Translation of mitigate Nglish: Translation of mitigate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mitigate for Arabic speakers
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