From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Mitigate \Mit"i*gate\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Mitigated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Mitigating}.] [L. mitigatus, p. p. of mitigare to soften, mitigate; mitis mild, soft + the root of agere to do, drive.]
1. To make less severe, intense, harsh, rigorous, painful, etc.; to soften; to meliorate; to alleviate; to diminish; to lessen; as, to mitigate heat or cold; to mitigate grief.
2. To make mild and accessible; to mollify; -- applied to persons. [Obs.]
This opinion . . . mitigated kings into companions. --Burke.
Syn: To alleviate; assuage; allay. See {Alleviate}.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
mitigate
verb
1: lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of; "The circumstances extenuate the crime" [syn: {extenuate}, {palliate}]
2: make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
206 Moby Thesaurus words for "mitigate": abate, accommodate, adapt, adjust, adjust to, allay, alleviate, allow for, alter, ameliorate, anesthetize, appease, assuage, attemper, attenuate, bank the fire, bate, be changed, be converted into, be renewed, benumb, better, blunt, bottom out, box in, break, break up, calm, change, chasten, checker, chop, chop and change, circumscribe, color, come about, come around, come round, condition, constrain, control, convert, cramp, cripple, cushion, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, deaden the pain, debilitate, decrease, deform, degenerate, denature, deteriorate, deviate, devitalize, dilute, diminish, diverge, diversify, downplay, dull, ease, ease matters, ease off, ease up, enervate, enfeeble, eviscerate, exhaust, extenuate, fit, flop, foment, give relief, gloss over, gruel, haul around, hedge, hedge about, ignore, improve, jibe, keep within bounds, lay, lay low, leaven, lenify, lessen, let down, let up, let up on, lighten, limit, loose, loosen, lull, make allowance for, meliorate, mince, moderate, modify, modulate, mollify, mutate, narrow, numb, obtund, overthrow, pad, palliate, placate, play down, poultice, pour balm into, pour oil on, qualify, rattle, re-create, realign, rebuild, reconstruct, redesign, reduce, reduce the temperature, refit, reform, regulate by, relax, relieve, remake, remit, renew, reshape, restrain, restrict, restructure, revamp, revive, ring the changes, salve, sap, season, set conditions, set limits, shake, shake up, shift, shift the scene, shuffle the cards, slack, slack off, slack up, slacken, slake, slow down, slur over, smother, sober, sober down, soft-pedal, soften, soften up, soothe, stifle, still, stupe, subdue, subvert, suppress, swerve, tack, take a turn, tame, temper, tone down, tune down, turn, turn aside, turn into, turn the corner, turn the scale, turn the tables, turn the tide, turn upside down, unbend, unbrace, undergo a change, undermine, underplay, unman, unnerve, unstrain, unstrengthen, unstring, varnish, vary, veer, warp, water down, weaken, whitewash, work a change, worsen
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