mitigation
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
mit·i·gate
(mĭt′ĭ-gāt′)tr.v. mit·i·gat·ed, mit·i·gat·ing, mit·i·gates
Phrasal Verb: 1. To make less severe or intense; moderate or alleviate. See Synonyms at relieve.
2. To make alterations to (land) to make it less polluted or more hospitable to wildlife.
mitigate against Usage Problem
1. To take measures to moderate or alleviate (something).
2. To be a strong factor against (someone or something); hinder or prevent.
[Middle English mitigaten, from Latin mītigāre, mītigāt- : mītis, soft + agere, to drive, do; see act.]
mit′i·ga·ble (-gə-bəl) adj.
mit′i·ga′tion n.
mit′i·ga′tive, mit′i·ga·to′ry (-gə-tôr′ē) adj.
mit′i·ga′tor n.
Usage Note: Mitigate, meaning "to make less severe, alleviate" is sometimes used where militate, which means "to cause a change," might be expected. The confusion arises when the subject of mitigate is an impersonal factor or influence, and the verb is followed by the preposition against, so the meaning of the phrase is something like "to be a powerful factor against" or "to hinder or prevent," as in His relative youth might mitigate against him in a national election. Some 70 percent of the Usage Panel rejected this usage of mitigate against in our 2009 survey. Some 56 percent also rejected the intransitive use of mitigate meaning "to take action to alleviate something undesirable," in What steps can the town take to mitigate against damage from coastal storms? Perhaps the use with against in the one instance has soured Panelists on its use in the other. This intransitive use is relatively recent in comparison with the long-established transitive use, so novelty might play a role as well.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun | 1. | mitigation - to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious |
2. | mitigation - a partial excuse to mitigate censure; an attempt to represent an offense as less serious than it appears by showing mitigating circumstances exculpation, excuse, self-justification, alibi - a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable" | |
3. | mitigation - the action of lessening in severity or intensity; "the object being control or moderation of economic depressions" abatement - the act of abating; "laws enforcing noise abatement" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
mitigation
noun
1. extenuation, explanation, excuse In mitigation, the offences were at the lower end of the scale.
2. relief, moderation, allaying, remission, diminution, abatement, alleviation, easement, extenuation, mollification, palliation, assuagement the mitigation or cure of a physical or mental condition
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
mitigation
nounFreedom, especially from pain:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
mitigation
[ˌmɪtɪˈgeɪʃən] N → mitigación f, alivio mto say a word in mitigation → decir algo en descargo
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
mitigation
n (of pain) → Linderung f; (of punishment) → Milderung f; to say something in mitigation → etwas zu jds/seiner Verteidigung anführen; have you anything to say in mitigation of sentence? → haben Sie zu dem Urteil noch irgendetwas Entlastendes vorzubringen?
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995