ˈmid.əˌgāt, -itə-, usu -ād.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English mitigaten, from Latin mitigatus, past participle of mitigare to soften, mitigate, from mitis soft, mild + agere to drive; akin to Old Irish mōith soft, mīn smooth, gentle, Sanskrit mayas enjoyment, pleasure, Lithuanian mielas, mylas dear — more at agent
1. : to cause (as a person) to become more gentle or less hostile : mollify
2. : to make less severe, violent, cruel, intense, painful : soften , alleviate
used opium to mitigate the horrors to which condemned criminals were subjected — Science
disasters can be, if not prevented, at least mitigated — K.S.Davis
: temper
in the summer the altitude tempers the heat, and in the winter the latitude mitigates the cold — C.W.DeKiewiet
: lessen
a sentence of 20 days solitary confinement may be mitigated to 10 days — Naval Orientation
tends to increase rather than to mitigate these differences in students — General Education in a Free Society
mitigate the sincerity of what I said — Mary Austin
Synonyms: see relieve