# mitigate

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈmɪt.ɪ.ɡeɪt/ · frequency rank #14,170

## Definitions
1. To reduce, lessen, or decrease and thereby to make less severe or easier to bear.
2. To downplay.
3. To give force or effect toward preventing a problem.

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **motivate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mitigate-vs-motivate)
- **mitigated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mitigate-vs-mitigated)

## Common misspellings (11)
`imtigate`, `miitgate`, `mitgiate`, `mitiagte`, `mitigaet`, `mitigatte`, `mitiggate`, `mitigtae`, `mittigate`, `mmitigate`, `mtiigate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/mitigate