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

Proposition 494 would pay for a new fire station in the Superstition Vistas area, new fire equipment and facility repairs and improvements for air filtration and cancer mitigation. —Maritza Dominguez, AZCentral.com, 4 Oct. 2025

Yet, despite these early warning signs, the Spanish wine sector as a whole was slow to react, only recently embracing decisive adaptation and mitigation measures. —Miguel A. Torres, Time, 3 Oct. 2025

That could become part of mitigation or even a push toward hospitalization instead of criminal conviction. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2025

Despite the mitigation strategies Lafayette has started to employ, Quinn knows the macroeconomic situation, and the tariff rates, are a moving target—and part of her reality. —Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 1 Oct. 2025

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