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Added 9 October 2026

mitigate

/ˈmɪt.ɪ.ɡeɪt/ verb

In Latin: mītigō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about mitigate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To reduce, lessen, or decrease and thereby to make less severe or easier to bear.
To downplay.
To give force or effect toward preventing a problem.
We've mitigated against the chance of flooding.

adjective

Mitigated, alleviated.

Origin

From Middle English mitigaten (“to relieve pain, soothe; (swelling) to abate; (hemorrhoids) to relieve; (the mind) to placate, appease; to end, check; to stop, cease”), from mitigat(e) (“mitigated, alleviated, relived”, also used as the past participle of mitigaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin mītigātus, the perfect passive participle of mītigō (“to make soft, ripe; to tame, pacify”), from mītis (“gentle, mild, ripe”) + -igō (“to do, make”), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁y- (“mild, soft”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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