mitigate
/ˈmɪt.ɪ.ɡeɪt/To make something bad, harmful, or serious less severe. You do not remove the problem completely — you reduce its negative impact.
- The company took steps to mitigate the financial risk.
- New safety rules helped mitigate the damage from the incident.
- Diversifying investments can mitigate losses in a downturn.
Adinary Nuance
Mitigate sits in a cluster of near-neighbors — alleviate, reduce, lessen, and diminish — but it holds the most formal register. In business and legal writing, "mitigate risk" and "mitigate damages" are standard phrases; you would rarely swap them for "alleviate risk," which sounds out of place. Alleviate is the warmer word: it describes easing pain or hardship felt directly by people, not managing abstract risks. Reduce is the everyday, neutral option for making any number or amount smaller, while mitigate specifically implies softening a threat or harm that still partly remains. Choose mitigate when your context is professional and the subject is a risk, impact, or negative consequence — not when you simply want to say something got smaller.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- giảm bớt
- Spanish
- mitigar
- Chinese
- 减轻
- Japanese
- 軽減
- Korean
- 완화
Etymology
From Latin "mitigare," meaning "to soften or make gentle," built from "mitis" (mild) and "agere" (to do or drive). The word entered English in the 15th century through Late Latin and Old French.
Common phrases
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is 'mitigate' a formal word?
- Yes, it is formal. It is most common in business reports, legal documents, and official communication. In casual conversation, people usually say 'reduce' or 'lessen' instead.
- What is the difference between 'mitigate' and 'alleviate'?
- 'Mitigate' is used for reducing risks, damages, or negative consequences — often in professional contexts. 'Alleviate' is warmer and usually describes easing pain or hardship felt directly by people, such as 'alleviate suffering.'
- Is it correct to say 'mitigate against'?
- No. 'Mitigate against' is a very common mistake. The correct use is simply 'mitigate something,' e.g. 'mitigate the risk.' The phrase 'militate against' is a separate expression meaning 'to work against something' — it is easy to confuse the two.
- Can I use 'mitigate' in a business email or report?
- Absolutely. It is very natural in business writing. Phrases like 'mitigate risk,' 'mitigate the financial impact,' or 'steps to mitigate disruption' are standard and will sound professional to native readers.