mitigate

Definition

To mitigate something is to make it less severe, harmful, or painful. You don’t remove the problem completely, but you reduce its impact.

Etymology

From Latin “mitigare,” meaning “to soften, alleviate, make mild,” from “mitis,” “soft, gentle,” and “agere,” “to do or make.” It entered English through Late Latin and Old French.

Learn this word in a 5-minute lesson

Hook, Story, Wonder, Action, Wisdom — one word at a time.

Start Today's Lesson — Free

No account required. 365 lessons across 19 languages.

Translations (30 languages)

Try another word →

For Developers

Access this word programmatically via the Word Orb API. Free tier: 10,000 calls/day, no credit card.

curl https://api.wordorb.ai/api/word/mitigate View API Pricing →