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    mitigate

    verbBand 9formal

    UKˈmɪtɪɡeɪt
    USˈmɪtəˌɡeɪt

    To make something bad less severe or harmful.

    A neat wall of sandbags across the doorway of a terraced house, holding back shallow floodwater in the street
    Sandbags do not stop the flood, they lessen the damage: to mitigate is to make something less harmful.

    Planting trees can help mitigate climate change.

    The plan is designed to mitigate the risk of flooding.

    Remember it

    'Mit' sounds like 'mitt', a padded glove that softens (mitigates) a blow.

    Watch out

    mitigate against climate changemitigate climate change

    Mitigate is normally used directly with its object.

    Goes with

    Words that go with mitigate: mitigate the effects; mitigate risk; mitigate climate change; mitigate against.

    Similar and opposite

    Similar
    alleviatereducelessenease
    Opposite
    aggravateworsenintensify

    Word family

    The mitigate family: mitigate (verb), mitigation (noun).

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