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, extensive, 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

In 2021, an appeals judge sided with the county and the developer on the project’s fire standards but still ordered the county to rescind its approvals over its lack of carbon emissions mitigation. —Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2026

Full mitigation instructions, including all necessary command-line codes, are included in the advisory. —Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026

Guggenheim takes solace in the rise of a green tech and green energy industry that is driving market solutions – or at least mitigations – to urgent concerns. —Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 20 May 2026

Anthropic has billed itself as the AI company that puts safety and risk-mitigation at the forefront of its research. —ABC News, 18 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mitigation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

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