mitigatev.

Brit.

/ˈmɪtᵻɡeɪt/, U.S.

/ˈmɪdəˌɡeɪt/

Forms: late Middle English–1500s mytygate, late Middle English– mitigate, 1500s metigate, 1500s mitigat, 1500s myttigate, 1500s myttygate, 1500s mytygat, 1500s–1600s mittegate, 1500s–1600s mittigate, 1500s–1600s mytigate, 1600s medigate; Scottish pre-1700 metegat, pre-1700 metigait, pre-1700 metigat, pre-1700 metigate, pre-1700 mettigat, pre-1700 mitigat, pre-1700 mitigatt, pre-1700 mittigat, pre-1700 mittygat, pre-1700 mytigate, pre-1700 1700s– mitigate. Past tense

α. Scottish pre-1700 metigat, pre-1700 mitigat.

β. 1500s– mitigated, 1500s– mytigated; Scottish 1700s– mitigated.

Past participle

α. 1500s mitigate, 1500s myttigate; Scottish pre-1700 metigait, pre-1700 metigat, pre-1700 metigate, pre-1700 mitigait, pre-1700 mitigat, pre-1700 mitigate, pre-1700 mitigatt, pre-1700 mitigiat (probably transmission error), pre-1700 mytigat (probably transmission error), pre-1700 mytigate (probably transmission error), pre-1700 myttigait (probably transmission error).

β. 1500s mytygated, 1500s–1600s mittigated, 1500s– mitigated; Scottish pre-1700 mitigatet, pre-1700 mitigatit, pre-1700 1700s– mitigated.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin mītigāt-, mītigāre.

Etymology: < classical Latin mītigāt-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix³) of mītigāre to alleviate, relieve, to moderate, assuage, mollify, to make (laws, etc.) more gentle, to make less potent or astringent, to soften (land, by irrigation), to make (a climate) less severe < mītis mild, gentle (cognate with Early Irish méth fat, rich, fertile (of soil), Welsh mwydyn soft part (of bread, etc.), probably Middle Breton bouedenn marrow, and also (with a different ablaut grade) Early Irish moíth tender) + -igāre (see discussion s.v. purge v.¹). Compare earlier mitigation n.Compare Middle French, French †mitiguer (c1355 in transitive use, 1547 in intransitive use, 16th cent. in legal sense; French mitiger ), Italian mitigare (1342 in intransitive use, c1350 in transitive use), Spanish mitigar (14th cent.), Portuguese mitigar (1553). At sense 5 N.E.D. (1907) notes: ‘In recent times there has been a tendency to prefer this periphrastic use to the uses in which the verb takes a thing or condition as its object.’ Evidence from the late 20th cent., however, suggests that the latter kinds of use (especially in senses 1, 2, and 4) continue to be very common. Sense 9 appears to have arisen by confusion with the phrase to militate against : see militate v. 2a. This use of the verb has attracted adverse criticism from writers on usage since at least E. Gowers Fowler's Mod. Eng. Usage (ed. 2, 1965). Webster's Dict. Eng. Usage (1989) states that this ‘cannot yet be considered an American idiom and should be avoided.’

a. transitive. To alleviate or give relief from (an illness or symptom, pain, suffering, sorrow, etc.); to lessen the trouble caused by (an evil or difficulty).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > mitigate or alleviate

lithec897

lighteOE

lissea1000

stillc1000

alightOE

alithe?a1200

softc1225

swagec1330

abate?c1335

easea1374

accoya1375

allegea1375

stintc1374

slakea1387

assuage1393

planea1400

slecka1400

plasterc1400

soften?c1415

lighten?a1425

mitigate?a1425

relievec1425

asoftc1430

alleviate?a1475

allevya1500

sletcha1500

alleve1544

allevate1570

salve?1577

sweetena1586

smooth1589

disembitter1622

deleniate1623

slaken1629

tranquillitate1657

soothe1711

the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > be relieved of [verb (transitive)] > console or relieve > relieve (suffering)

lissea1000

alightOE

allayc1225

softc1225

comfort1297

laya1300

eathea1325

allegea1375

appeasec1374

laska1375

slakea1387

releasea1393

balma1400

to bete one of one's balea1400

to cool a person's caresc1400

delivera1413

leggea1425

mitigate?a1425

repress?a1425

alleviate?a1475

allevya1500

alleve1544

leviate1545

lenify1567

allevate1570

ungrieve1589

straight1604

mulcify1653

balsama1666

solace1667

meliorate1796

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 43^v (MED) Auicen mytygateþ þe akyng with opio.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 389 A man nesynge, peple beynge by use to say ‘Criste helpe the’, and make a crosse on their mowthe to mitigate [L. sedanda] that passion.

?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iii. liii. 241 Comforte me, good lorde, in my exyle mytygate my sorowe.

?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Oj ^v Anoynte it [sc. the place] with oyle of Roses..to mytygate the smert.

1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. f. 5 It is wisedome..warely to mitigate by protestacion, the euill that is in theim.

1591 F. Sparry tr. C. de Cattan Geomancie B ij The Iasper stone..hath vertue to mittigate Kernels of the flesh.

1655 N. Culpeper et al. tr. L. Rivière Pract. Physick vi. i. 132 At first the pain wil seem to encrease; but afterward, it wil be mitigated, and cease.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 556 Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage With solemn touches, troubl'd thoughts.

1715 J. Addison Freeholder No. 12. ⁋2 Government..mitigates the inequality of power among particular persons.

1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. i, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 29 Princes of greater abilities were content to mitigate evils which they could not cure.

1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 92 Nothing mitigated her sufferings so much as lint dipt in a solution of opium.

1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species iii. 66 Lighten any check, mitigate the destruction ever so little, and the number of the species will almost instantaneously increase to any amount.

1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 23/1 The king..does his best..to mitigate the disastrous effects of the blunders of his middle life.

1925 V. Woolf Mrs. Dalloway 118 Let us, at any rate, do our part; mitigate the sufferings of our fellow-prisoners.

1967 Martindale's Extra Pharmacopoeia (ed. 25) 783/1 Symptoms of morphine withdrawal in addicts may also be mitigated by methadone substitution.

1991 R. Blundell et al. Taxation in Empirical Labour Supply Models (IFS Working Paper W91/9) 6 We can mitigate the problem by selecting deeper into the tax segment.

†b. transitive. To relieve of a burden. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > be relieved of [verb (transitive)] > console or relieve > relieve of suffering

lighteOE

unbindc950

alightOE

slakea1300

deliverc1325

covera1375

lissec1374

relievea1382

allegea1425

refreshc1430

alighten1530

untaste1609

mitigate1644

disaffright1676

soothe1746

shrive1899

1644 H. Ingram Let. to Ld. Denbigh 19 Aug. in 4th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1874) App. 270/2 Y^e countrie exspecteth by yo^r justice to be mittigated of y^r too heavie pressures.

a. transitive. To moderate, temper, or relax the violence of (one's behaviour, feelings, etc.). Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > make less active or vigorous > allow to become less vigorous > specific one's actions, etc.

slake1390

mitigate?a1500

slack1520

slake1586

relax1655

a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Lion & Mouse l. 1597 in Poems (1981) 63 To remit sumtyme ane grit offence, And mitigate with mercy crueltie.

1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lii Mytygat by mesure, your prowde hasty langage.

c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) Prol. 11 Dame fortoune vil mittigat hyr auen crualte.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. v. 226 Let me beg you to mitigate your Wrath.

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. iii. 71 ‘Hold, father,’ said the Jew, ‘mitigate and assuage your choler.’

1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. x. 239 I represented your failings in a plain light for the purpose of mitigating her adoration.

a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) v. 176 She moved her head impatiently; but then smiling, as if to mitigate her abruptness, said, ‘It will always make me nervous to have my hair touched.’

1991 A. Lefevere tr. W. von Eschenbach Parzival vii. 95 Perhaps when he has done a knights combat here the king might be inclined to free us from distress and mitigate his anger.

b. transitive. To allay or assuage (a person's anger, hatred, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > assuage or calm

laya1300

disarm?c1400

lithec1430

mitigatea1513

charmc1540

hush1632

assopiatea1649

a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. xix. sig. r.i^v O glorious virgin..Metigate the malice..of Richarde our lorde.

1516 R. Fabyan New Chron. Eng. (1811) vii. ccxxxv. 271 The preestys..to the entent to myttygate..the crueltye of the sayd tyrauntes, dyd open them the ornamentys of the sayde churche.

1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xviii. f. cxii To mitigate Goddes dyspleasure.

a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 302 Thir goode wordis..metigat and assuadgit the Duike of Albanieis anger.

1656 in F. P. Verney Mem. Verney Family Commonwealth (1894) 317 [Luce begs Sir Ralph to do his best] to medigate my lady's anger against her dau^r.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. v. 154 Molly..began at first to upbraid Square with having been the Occasion of her Loss of Jones; but that Gentleman soon found the Means of mitigating her Anger.

1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) II. v. 90 Montezuma addressed them with every argument that could mitigate their rage.

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xiv. 275 He and his comrades..were resolved to warn Gurth to make his escape by the way, in case Cedric's ire against him could not be mitigated.

1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. iii. vi. 379 The..envoys interposed to mitigate the king's anger.

1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues III. 142 His [sc. Socrates'] hostility towards the sophists..was not mitigated in later life.

1985 O. Sacks Man who mistook Wife xix. 157 The punitive violence of Donald's self-accusing superego has been mitigated, and the gentler scales of the ego now hold court.

†c. transitive. To make (a person, or a person's mind or disposition) milder or less hostile; to appease, mollify. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > appease or propitiate

soft?c1225

queema1325

appeasec1374

pleasea1382

softena1382

mollifya1450

pacifya1500

apeace1523

temper1525

mitigatea1535

qualify?c1550

thaw1582

propitiate1583

aslake1590

smooth1608

to lay down1629

addulce1655

sweeten1657

acquiesce1659

gentle1663

palliate1678

placate1678

conciliate1782

to pour oil on the waters (also on troubled waters)1847

square1859

square1945

a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 57/1 Where the king toke displeasure, she would [printed wolud] mitigate & appease his mind.

1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health ii. 19 The Chesse..was inuented..to mitigate the mindes or heartes of Tyrantes.

1642 Declar. Lords & Commons in Parl. 8 Such Commissioners were mittigated, in respect of some clauses perilous to the Commissioners, and approved of for the time to come.

1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. I. viii. 178 The Cardinal of Pavia..tooke care..to mitigate the pope by the accounts which he sent of that princes conduct.

1855 E. B. Pusey Doctr. Real Presence Note S. §75. 694 S. Leo the Great..mitigated Genseric, when Rome was taken.

1858 J. Brown Rab in Horæ Subsecivæ 1st Ser. 299 The severe little man was mitigated, and condescended to say, ‘Rab, ma man, puir Rabbie’.

a. transitive. To make less stringent or oppressive; to lessen the rigour or severity of (a law, policy, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]

littleeOE

anitherOE

wanzelOE

lessc1225

slakea1300

littenc1300

aslakec1314

adminisha1325

allayc1330

settle1338

low1340

minisha1382

reprovea1382

abatea1398

rebatea1398

subtlea1398

alaskia1400

forlyten?a1400

imminish14..

lessenc1410

diminish1417

repress?a1425

assuagec1430

scarcec1440

small1440

underslakec1440

alessa1450

debate?c1450

batec1460

decreasec1470

appetisse1474

alow1494

mince1499

perswage?1504

remita1513

inless?1521

attenuate1530

weaken1530

defray1532

mitigate1532

minorate1534

narrow?1548

diminuec1550

extenuate1555

amain1578

exolve1578

base1581

dejecta1586

amoinder1588

faint1598

qualify1604

contract1605

to pull down1607

shrivel1609

to take down1610

disaugment1611

impoverish1611

shrink1628

decoct1629

persway1631

unflame1635

straiten1645

depress1647

reduce1649

detract1654

minuate1657

alloy1661

lower?1662

sinka1684

retreat1690

nip1785

to drive down1840

minify1866

to knock down1867

to damp down1869

scale1887

mute1891

clip1938

to roll back1942

to cut back1943

downscale1945

downrate1958

slim1963

downshift1972

society > authority > rule or government > oppression > oppress [verb (transitive)] > render oppressive > render less oppressive

mitigate1532

1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. (1557) 641/1 Yet are the lawes of the church mitigated.

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Fasting ii. 98 b It may lawfully..alter, change, or mitigate those Ecclesiasticall decrees & orders.

1683 Britanniæ Speculum 61 Where he sees the Laws rigorous or doubtful he may mitigate and interpret them.

1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. iv. ix. 170 Cæpio was of Opinion, that the Senate enjoys a Power,..both to mitigate and extend the Laws.

1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. xxxiii. Though the forest-laws are now mitigated..yet from this root has sprung up a bastard slip known by the name of the game-law.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xii. 224 The English laws against Popery..were so much mitigated by the prudence and humanity of the Government.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 472/1 Alaric..greatly mitigated the persecuting policy of his father Euric towards the Catholics.

1949 A. Koestler Promise & Fulfilm. iv. 40 It is conceivable that they could have achieved sufficient pressure at least to mitigate the immigration bar of 1939.

1965 W. Mitchell tr. G. Huyghe Relig. Orders Mod. World i. 6 The mendicant Orders..while in part adopting the monastic and canonical forms of organization..plainly mitigated them to enable their members to go out and preach.

†b. transitive. spec. To lessen the stringency of (an obligation). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > be exempt from (a liability or obligation) [verb (transitive)] > remit (an obligation)

quitc1300

remit1405

pardon1433

to dispense with1530

dispense1532

mitigate1651

1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 2 Your Majesty knows..my obligation to him, which difference in opinion shall never mitigate in point of affection.

a. transitive. To reduce the severity of (a punishment).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > specifically a punishment or law

assuagec1300

mitigatea1533

a1533 [implied in: Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. L vj His chastysement was mitigate, and more easye. (at mitigate adj.)].

1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII c. 8 To diminish or mitigate the penalties.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 200 I haue spoke thus much to mittigate the iustice of thy plea.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 76 That I may mitigate thir doom.

1699 in H. Paton Penninghame Parish Rec. (1933) I. 32 The session..think it convenient to mitigat his sentence.

1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. viii. 52 Honour likewise endeavoured to vindicate his Crime, and Pity to mitigate his Punishment.

1851 C. Dickens Bill-sticking in Househ. Words 22 Mar. 604/1 They were..fined..five pounds..but..the magistrate..mitigated the fine to fifteen shillings.

1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 284 As she could not reverse the curse..she did what she could to mitigate it by substituting for death a sleep of a hundred years' duration.

1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 434/2 Within the twelve yards line, a referee must enforce law 13, and has no power to mitigate the penalty.

1977 Irish Press 29 Sept. 4/3 Two fines of £100, mitigated to £2 each, were imposed.

b. transitive. To reduce or moderate (a price). Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (transitive)] > lower (price)

weaken1530

mitigate1542

abase1551

fall1564

to beat the price1591

to bring down1600

to fetch down1841

degrade1844

to roll back1942

1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII c. 7 Suche Lordes..shall..haue the same auctoritie to mittigate, and enhaunce the price of wynes..as..occasion shall require.

1619 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 88 That ane certain number of merchands..sould mitigatt the pryces of the fraught.

1971 Nature 12 Mar. 69/2 Should there not..be some kind of rebate for bulk delivery or, more workably, a charge for single delivery which is mitigated by bulk delivery?

c. transitive. To extenuate or lessen the gravity of (an offence, a wrongdoing).

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate

whiteOE

gloze1390

colourc1400

emplasterc1405

littlec1450

polish?c1450

daub1543

plaster1546

blanch1548

flatter1552

extenuate1570

alleviate1577

soothe1587

mincea1591

soothe1592

palliate1604

sweeten1635

rarefy1637

mitigate1651

glossa1656

whitewash1703

qualify1749

1651 A. Weamys Contin. Sydney's Arcadia 71 If you had been guiltie as you are not, I should rather choose to mitigate your crime, than any way to heighten it.

1721 E. Young Revenge iii. i Then you must pardon me, If I presume to mitigate the crime.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. vi. 230 Tho' Grace..had forfeited all Title to Modesty..she..attempted to mitigate the Offence.

1862 J. H. Burton Book-hunter (1863) 301 It may perhaps do something to mitigate Surtees's offence in the eye of the world.

1907 G. C. Whitworth Indian Eng. xii. 248 The offence is much mitigated if..the word is followed by ‘if’ instead of the usual infinitive, as ‘I'll thank you to be quiet.’

1992 J. Mansell Forgotten Fire (BNC) viii I let you go ahead with your despicable plans. That was wrong of me, but it in no way mitigates your own actions.

d. transitive. To make (a condition or custom) more humane. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > treat kindly [verb (transitive)] > make humane > specifically a condition or custom

mitigate1797

humanitarianize1885

1797 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 532/1 When we reflečt upon the number of laws enacted to mitigate slavery among them [sc. the Jews],..we cannot help being of opinion [etc.].

1835 J. B. Robertson in F. Von Schlegel Philos. of Hist. (1846) 39 Christianity first mitigated, and then abolished slavery.

1869 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. European Morals (1877) I. ii. 252 Marcus Aurelius..mitigated the gladiatorial shows.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 886/1 This regulation..was intended to mitigate the usages of war amongst the members of the league.

2017 O. Yasuaki Internat. Law in Transcivilizational World v. 356 Having been severely criticized..from the 1970s to 1980s, the Japanese government has gradually mitigated discriminatory treatment based on nationality against those who had lost their Japanese nationality.

e. transitive. Civil Law. To abate or minimize (loss or damage caused to one by a wrongful act). Also intransitive in duty to mitigate.It is a legal principle that a plaintiff cannot recover damages in respect of loss that he or she could have taken reasonable steps to avoid.

ΚΠ

1912 Law Rep.: Appeal Cases 689 This first principle is followed by a second, which imposes on a plaintiff the duty of taking all reasonable steps to mitigate the loss consequent on the breach.

1949 Lloyd's Law Rep. 82 459/1 They had to prove:..thirdly, that defendants took reasonable steps to mitigate their damage.

1978 P. S. James & D. J. L. Brown Gen. Princ. Law of Torts (ed. 4) xxxv. 452 Where a plaintiff has been harmed by a tort he is expected to ‘mitigate’ the damage by doing what a reasonable man would do to minimise his loss.

1998 I. Hunter Which? Guide to Employment xi. 197 An employee would not have complied with his or her duty to mitigate the loss if he or she simply took any job available paying any level of salary.

5. transitive. To moderate (the severity, rigour, etc., of something).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > the severity of (something)

mollifya1500

mitigate1571

palliate1665

1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. (lxviii. 34) The harshnesse of the metaphor was to bee mitigated.

a1582 G. Buchanan Let. in Vernac. Writings (1892) 58 To mitigat sum part the acerbite of certaine wordis and sum taintis.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xxii. 52 We could greatly wish that the rigor of this their opinion were alayed and mitigated.

1660 A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 359 The strictness of the Lord's day was mitigated.

1714 J. Purcell Treat. Cholick 165 To Mitigate the Violence of the Pain.

1718 Free-thinker No. 10. 2 No Consideration upon Earth can mitigate the Heinousness of the Crime.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. x. 204 The Wickedness of the Country was principally owing to the Encouragement he had given to Vice,..by having mitigated that just and wholesome Rigour of the Law.

1849 G. P. R. James Woodman I. ix. 176 One who..strove to mitigate the bloody rigour of a civil war.

1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar ix. 96 Cæsar interceded to mitigate the severity of the punishment.

1935 H. A. L. Fisher Hist. Europe I. xiii. 164 For a time the commanding energy of the Emperor mitigated the force of these evils.

1992 J. M. Kelly Short Hist. Western Legal Theory iii. 113 The church, nevertheless, had some influence in mitigating the rigour of criminal law.

†6. transitive. In physical senses: to sweeten or to free from acridity; to improve (land) by ploughing or tilling. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)]

ina1387

reclaim1440

improve1523

win1531

mitigate1601

reform1607

stuba1650

regain1652

redeem1671

reduce1726

to bring to1814

to bring in1860

to break in1891

green1967

the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > adapt or adjust [verb (transitive)] > by tempering or mixing

temperc1000

attemper1393

temperatea1540

attemperate1561

contemper1585

contemperate1590

mitigate1601

season1604

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 379 This tree..hath in it a certaine fat liquor..and entreth into compositions of sweet ointments, for to..mitigate the other oile.

1654 R. Codrington tr. Justinus Hist. xliii. 507 To exercise and mitigate the fields with ploughs.

7. transitive. To moderate or reduce in strength (heat, cold, light, etc.), esp. so as to make more bearable; to temper the severity of (a climate).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)]

temperc1000

keelc1175

slakea1300

abate?c1335

settle1338

swagea1340

modifyc1385

rebatea1398

bate1398

moder1414

releasea1425

remiss?a1425

moderate1435

alethe?1440

delaya1450

appal1470

addulce1477

mollify1496

mean?a1513

relent1535

qualify1536

temperatea1540

aplake1578

slack1589

relaxate1598

milden1603

mitigate1611

relax1612

alleniate1615

allay1628

alloy1634

castigate1653

smoothen1655

tendera1656

mitify1656

meeken1662

remitigate1671

obviscate1684

slacken1685

chastise1704

dulcify1744

absorb1791

demulceate1817

chasten1856

modulate1974

mediate1987

1611 C. Tourneur Atheist's Trag. (new ed.) ii. sig. E1^v That but mitigates The heate.

1611 Bible (King James) Wisd. xvi. 18 Sometimes the flame was mitigated, that it might not burne vp the beasts that were sent against the vngodly.

1742 W. Collins Persian Eclogues ii. 11 Or Moss-crown'd Fountains mitigate the Day.

1837 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. i. viii. 226 The winter and summer temperatures being sometimes mitigated, and at others exaggerated, in the same latitude.

1840 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive in Ess. (1899) 504 Many devices which now mitigate the heat of the climate, preserve health, and prolong life, were unknown.

1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) viii. §398 This current is felt as far as the Equator, mitigating the rainless climate of Peru as it goes, and making it delightful.

1932 H. Belloc Napoléon iii. 175 The..torrid day, whose heat was barely mitigated by an on-shore wind from the west.

1992 L. Wilkinson Joy Bringer (BNC) iii A cooling breeze from the lagoon mitigated the heat.

†8. intransitive. To abate; to grow milder or less severe. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)]

allayc1275

softc1300

assuage1330

swagec1330

slakea1352

stanchc1420

overslakec1425

appeasec1440

to swage ofc1440

to sit downa1555

soften1565

slack1580

mitigate1633

moderate1737

gentle1912

1633 T. James Strange Voy. 68 The cold did very little mitigate.

1738 H. Brooke tr. T. Tasso Jerusalem i. 43 But as his Years encrease, his Fires asswage Allay with Time, and mitigate with Age.

1880 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times IV. lvii. 235 The bitterness of popular feeling had very much mitigated.

9. intransitive. Originally U.S. to mitigate against: (of a fact or circumstance, an action, etc.) to be a powerful factor or consideration against; to counteract (an argument, a condition, etc.); to hinder or inhibit (an outcome).

ΚΠ

1813 P. A. Browne Rep. District Court Philadelphia 333 They have not been able to discover any decision.., or any principle of the foreign attachment laws that mitigates against their opinion.

1893 N. Amer. Rev. Feb. 176 The fact that..the annual product of silver at this ration has been greater than the product of gold does not mitigate against the argument.

1932 W. Faulkner Centaur in Brass in Amer. Mercury Feb. 202/1 It's as though there were some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him.

1952 Public Opinion Q. 16 345 A persistent party activity that both mitigates against status-security and conduces to the use of ‘challenges’ in political or other discussions.

1963 Times 25 May 12/3 The British social environment and to some extent tax laws, mitigated against a modern merchant adventurer.

1977 Listener (N.Z.) 15 Jan. 30/3 The grass-court scene here, plus travel distances, are the other two factors mitigating against the bigger names coming to Auckland.

2005 C. M. Kennedy Braided Relations, Entwined Lives v. 95 Not only did state law refuse to recognize slave marriages but also customary practices mitigated against lasting slave partnerships.

10. transitive. To counteract, qualify, or moderate (something neutral or positive).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)] > neutralize or counteract

fordoc1175

counterpoisec1374

correct1578

countercheck1590

countervail1590

cancel1633

counterbalance1636

counterswaya1640

countermand1645

counter-influence1667

counteract1694

destroy1726

neutralizea1797

counterweigh1825

antagonize1833

mitigate1857

kill1858

1857 ‘G. Eliot’ Amos Barton ii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 14/2 A remarkable power of language, mitigated by hesitation.

1910 E. M. Forster Howards End xiv. 119 The sky was a crimson battlefield of spring, but London was not afraid. Her smoke mitigated the splendour.

1959 J. Wood Krutch Human Nature & Human Condition iii. 43 Men may be declared legally free and equal but ways within the law are found to mitigate that freedom and that equality.

1991 Lang. in Society 20 244 Their usefulness is mitigated by a general suspicion that words and propositions are not the royal road to understanding the world.

1999 Financial Times 9 Oct. (Weekend Mag.) 13/2 My joy has been mitigated by hearing that the set text for the exam retails at a cool..£5,700.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	mitigate
释义	† mitigateadj. Forms: see mitigate v. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin mītigātus, mītigāre. Etymology: < classical Latin mītigātus, past participle of mītigāre mitigate v. Obsolete. Mitigated; alleviated, soothed. Frequently as past participle. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [adjective] > relieved (of suffering) mitigate?a1475 the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > [adjective] > become or made less violent or severe > mitigated or alleviated mitigate?a1475 mitigated1884 society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > [adjective] > appeasing or propitiatory > appeased mitigate?a1475 propitiate1551 pacate1645 propitiated1659 placated1710 mollified1849 ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1869) II. 387 Hit was answerede to theyme by Apollo Delphicus that pestilence to be mitigate [L. sedari] if [etc.]. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 35 But theire myndes not mitigate [L. sedatis] þerwith. 1503 in A. F. Johnston & M. Rogerson Rec. Early Eng. Drama: York (1979) I. 199 He to pay to the comon well v marca & after it was mytigate to xl s. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. L.vj His chastysement was mitigate, and more easye. 1560 A. L. tr. J. Calvin Serm. Songe Ezechias iv That the pain should be mitigate. 1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus Prol. sig. Aiij^v Sumpart ar dry, and sum ar mitigait. 1592 in D. Neal Hist. Puritans (1732) I. 551 That some more mitigate and peaceable course might be taken therein. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online December 2021). mitigatev. Brit. /ˈmɪtᵻɡeɪt/, U.S. /ˈmɪdəˌɡeɪt/ Forms: late Middle English–1500s mytygate, late Middle English– mitigate, 1500s metigate, 1500s mitigat, 1500s myttigate, 1500s myttygate, 1500s mytygat, 1500s–1600s mittegate, 1500s–1600s mittigate, 1500s–1600s mytigate, 1600s medigate; Scottish pre-1700 metegat, pre-1700 metigait, pre-1700 metigat, pre-1700 metigate, pre-1700 mettigat, pre-1700 mitigat, pre-1700 mitigatt, pre-1700 mittigat, pre-1700 mittygat, pre-1700 mytigate, pre-1700 1700s– mitigate. Past tense α. Scottish pre-1700 metigat, pre-1700 mitigat. β. 1500s– mitigated, 1500s– mytigated; Scottish 1700s– mitigated. Past participle α. 1500s mitigate, 1500s myttigate; Scottish pre-1700 metigait, pre-1700 metigat, pre-1700 metigate, pre-1700 mitigait, pre-1700 mitigat, pre-1700 mitigate, pre-1700 mitigatt, pre-1700 mitigiat (probably transmission error), pre-1700 mytigat (probably transmission error), pre-1700 mytigate (probably transmission error), pre-1700 myttigait (probably transmission error). β. 1500s mytygated, 1500s–1600s mittigated, 1500s– mitigated; Scottish pre-1700 mitigatet, pre-1700 mitigatit, pre-1700 1700s– mitigated. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin mītigāt-, mītigāre. Etymology: < classical Latin mītigāt-, past participial stem (compare -ate suffix³) of mītigāre to alleviate, relieve, to moderate, assuage, mollify, to make (laws, etc.) more gentle, to make less potent or astringent, to soften (land, by irrigation), to make (a climate) less severe < mītis mild, gentle (cognate with Early Irish méth fat, rich, fertile (of soil), Welsh mwydyn soft part (of bread, etc.), probably Middle Breton bouedenn marrow, and also (with a different ablaut grade) Early Irish moíth tender) + -igāre (see discussion s.v. purge v.¹). Compare earlier mitigation n.Compare Middle French, French †mitiguer (c1355 in transitive use, 1547 in intransitive use, 16th cent. in legal sense; French mitiger ), Italian mitigare (1342 in intransitive use, c1350 in transitive use), Spanish mitigar (14th cent.), Portuguese mitigar (1553). At sense 5 N.E.D. (1907) notes: ‘In recent times there has been a tendency to prefer this periphrastic use to the uses in which the verb takes a thing or condition as its object.’ Evidence from the late 20th cent., however, suggests that the latter kinds of use (especially in senses 1, 2, and 4) continue to be very common. Sense 9 appears to have arisen by confusion with the phrase to militate against : see militate v. 2a. This use of the verb has attracted adverse criticism from writers on usage since at least E. Gowers Fowler's Mod. Eng. Usage (ed. 2, 1965). Webster's Dict. Eng. Usage (1989) states that this ‘cannot yet be considered an American idiom and should be avoided.’ 1. a. transitive. To alleviate or give relief from (an illness or symptom, pain, suffering, sorrow, etc.); to lessen the trouble caused by (an evil or difficulty). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > mitigate or alleviate lithec897 lighteOE lissea1000 stillc1000 alightOE alithe?a1200 softc1225 swagec1330 abate?c1335 easea1374 accoya1375 allegea1375 stintc1374 slakea1387 assuage1393 planea1400 slecka1400 plasterc1400 soften?c1415 lighten?a1425 mitigate?a1425 relievec1425 asoftc1430 alleviate?a1475 allevya1500 sletcha1500 alleve1544 allevate1570 salve?1577 sweetena1586 smooth1589 disembitter1622 deleniate1623 slaken1629 tranquillitate1657 soothe1711 the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > be relieved of [verb (transitive)] > console or relieve > relieve (suffering) lissea1000 alightOE allayc1225 softc1225 comfort1297 laya1300 eathea1325 allegea1375 appeasec1374 laska1375 slakea1387 releasea1393 balma1400 to bete one of one's balea1400 to cool a person's caresc1400 delivera1413 leggea1425 mitigate?a1425 repress?a1425 alleviate?a1475 allevya1500 alleve1544 leviate1545 lenify1567 allevate1570 ungrieve1589 straight1604 mulcify1653 balsama1666 solace1667 meliorate1796 ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 43^v (MED) Auicen mytygateþ þe akyng with opio. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1874) V. 389 A man nesynge, peple beynge by use to say ‘Criste helpe the’, and make a crosse on their mowthe to mitigate [L. sedanda] that passion. ?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iii. liii. 241 Comforte me, good lorde, in my exyle mytygate my sorowe. ?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens iv. sig. Oj ^v Anoynte it [sc. the place] with oyle of Roses..to mytygate the smert. 1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. f. 5 It is wisedome..warely to mitigate by protestacion, the euill that is in theim. 1591 F. Sparry tr. C. de Cattan Geomancie B ij The Iasper stone..hath vertue to mittigate Kernels of the flesh. 1655 N. Culpeper et al. tr. L. Rivière Pract. Physick vi. i. 132 At first the pain wil seem to encrease; but afterward, it wil be mitigated, and cease. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 556 Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage With solemn touches, troubl'd thoughts. View more context for this quotation 1715 J. Addison Freeholder No. 12. ⁋2 Government..mitigates the inequality of power among particular persons. 1759 W. Robertson Hist. Scotl. i, in Hist. Wks. (1813) I. 29 Princes of greater abilities were content to mitigate evils which they could not cure. 1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 92 Nothing mitigated her sufferings so much as lint dipt in a solution of opium. 1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species iii. 66 Lighten any check, mitigate the destruction ever so little, and the number of the species will almost instantaneously increase to any amount. 1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 23/1 The king..does his best..to mitigate the disastrous effects of the blunders of his middle life. 1925 V. Woolf Mrs. Dalloway 118 Let us, at any rate, do our part; mitigate the sufferings of our fellow-prisoners. 1967 Martindale's Extra Pharmacopoeia (ed. 25) 783/1 Symptoms of morphine withdrawal in addicts may also be mitigated by methadone substitution. 1991 R. Blundell et al. Taxation in Empirical Labour Supply Models (IFS Working Paper W91/9) 6 We can mitigate the problem by selecting deeper into the tax segment. †b. transitive. To relieve of a burden. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > be relieved of [verb (transitive)] > console or relieve > relieve of suffering lighteOE unbindc950 alightOE slakea1300 deliverc1325 covera1375 lissec1374 relievea1382 allegea1425 refreshc1430 alighten1530 untaste1609 mitigate1644 disaffright1676 soothe1746 shrive1899 1644 H. Ingram Let. to Ld. Denbigh 19 Aug. in 4th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1874) App. 270/2 Y^e countrie exspecteth by yo^r justice to be mittigated of y^r too heavie pressures. 2. a. transitive. To moderate, temper, or relax the violence of (one's behaviour, feelings, etc.). Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > make less active or vigorous > allow to become less vigorous > specific one's actions, etc. slake1390 mitigate?a1500 slack1520 slake1586 relax1655 a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Lion & Mouse l. 1597 in Poems (1981) 63 To remit sumtyme ane grit offence, And mitigate with mercy crueltie. 1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lii Mytygat by mesure, your prowde hasty langage. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) Prol. 11 Dame fortoune vil mittigat hyr auen crualte. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xv. v. 226 Let me beg you to mitigate your Wrath. View more context for this quotation 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. iii. 71 ‘Hold, father,’ said the Jew, ‘mitigate and assuage your choler.’ 1847 E. Brontë Wuthering Heights I. x. 239 I represented your failings in a plain light for the purpose of mitigating her adoration. a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) v. 176 She moved her head impatiently; but then smiling, as if to mitigate her abruptness, said, ‘It will always make me nervous to have my hair touched.’ 1991 A. Lefevere tr. W. von Eschenbach Parzival vii. 95 Perhaps when he has done a knights combat here the king might be inclined to free us from distress and mitigate his anger. b. transitive. To allay or assuage (a person's anger, hatred, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > assuage or calm laya1300 disarm?c1400 lithec1430 mitigatea1513 charmc1540 hush1632 assopiatea1649 a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. xix. sig. r.i^v O glorious virgin..Metigate the malice..of Richarde our lorde. 1516 R. Fabyan New Chron. Eng. (1811) vii. ccxxxv. 271 The preestys..to the entent to myttygate..the crueltye of the sayd tyrauntes, dyd open them the ornamentys of the sayde churche. 1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xviii. f. cxii To mitigate Goddes dyspleasure. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 302 Thir goode wordis..metigat and assuadgit the Duike of Albanieis anger. 1656 in F. P. Verney Mem. Verney Family Commonwealth (1894) 317 [Luce begs Sir Ralph to do his best] to medigate my lady's anger against her dau^r. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. v. 154 Molly..began at first to upbraid Square with having been the Occasion of her Loss of Jones; but that Gentleman soon found the Means of mitigating her Anger. View more context for this quotation 1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) II. v. 90 Montezuma addressed them with every argument that could mitigate their rage. 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. xiv. 275 He and his comrades..were resolved to warn Gurth to make his escape by the way, in case Cedric's ire against him could not be mitigated. 1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. iii. vi. 379 The..envoys interposed to mitigate the king's anger. 1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues III. 142 His [sc. Socrates'] hostility towards the sophists..was not mitigated in later life. 1985 O. Sacks Man who mistook Wife xix. 157 The punitive violence of Donald's self-accusing superego has been mitigated, and the gentler scales of the ego now hold court. †c. transitive. To make (a person, or a person's mind or disposition) milder or less hostile; to appease, mollify. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > appease or propitiate soft?c1225 queema1325 appeasec1374 pleasea1382 softena1382 mollifya1450 pacifya1500 apeace1523 temper1525 mitigatea1535 qualify?c1550 thaw1582 propitiate1583 aslake1590 smooth1608 to lay down1629 addulce1655 sweeten1657 acquiesce1659 gentle1663 palliate1678 placate1678 conciliate1782 to pour oil on the waters (also on troubled waters)1847 square1859 square1945 a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 57/1 Where the king toke displeasure, she would [printed wolud] mitigate & appease his mind. 1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health ii. 19 The Chesse..was inuented..to mitigate the mindes or heartes of Tyrantes. 1642 Declar. Lords & Commons in Parl. 8 Such Commissioners were mittigated, in respect of some clauses perilous to the Commissioners, and approved of for the time to come. 1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. I. viii. 178 The Cardinal of Pavia..tooke care..to mitigate the pope by the accounts which he sent of that princes conduct. 1855 E. B. Pusey Doctr. Real Presence Note S. §75. 694 S. Leo the Great..mitigated Genseric, when Rome was taken. 1858 J. Brown Rab in Horæ Subsecivæ 1st Ser. 299 The severe little man was mitigated, and condescended to say, ‘Rab, ma man, puir Rabbie’. 3. a. transitive. To make less stringent or oppressive; to lessen the rigour or severity of (a law, policy, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] littleeOE anitherOE wanzelOE lessc1225 slakea1300 littenc1300 aslakec1314 adminisha1325 allayc1330 settle1338 low1340 minisha1382 reprovea1382 abatea1398 rebatea1398 subtlea1398 alaskia1400 forlyten?a1400 imminish14.. lessenc1410 diminish1417 repress?a1425 assuagec1430 scarcec1440 small1440 underslakec1440 alessa1450 debate?c1450 batec1460 decreasec1470 appetisse1474 alow1494 mince1499 perswage?1504 remita1513 inless?1521 attenuate1530 weaken1530 defray1532 mitigate1532 minorate1534 narrow?1548 diminuec1550 extenuate1555 amain1578 exolve1578 base1581 dejecta1586 amoinder1588 faint1598 qualify1604 contract1605 to pull down1607 shrivel1609 to take down1610 disaugment1611 impoverish1611 shrink1628 decoct1629 persway1631 unflame1635 straiten1645 depress1647 reduce1649 detract1654 minuate1657 alloy1661 lower?1662 sinka1684 retreat1690 nip1785 to drive down1840 minify1866 to knock down1867 to damp down1869 scale1887 mute1891 clip1938 to roll back1942 to cut back1943 downscale1945 downrate1958 slim1963 downshift1972 society > authority > rule or government > oppression > oppress [verb (transitive)] > render oppressive > render less oppressive mitigate1532 1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. (1557) 641/1 Yet are the lawes of the church mitigated. 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Fasting ii. 98 b It may lawfully..alter, change, or mitigate those Ecclesiasticall decrees & orders. 1683 Britanniæ Speculum 61 Where he sees the Laws rigorous or doubtful he may mitigate and interpret them. 1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. iv. ix. 170 Cæpio was of Opinion, that the Senate enjoys a Power,..both to mitigate and extend the Laws. 1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. xxxiii. Though the forest-laws are now mitigated..yet from this root has sprung up a bastard slip known by the name of the game-law. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xii. 224 The English laws against Popery..were so much mitigated by the prudence and humanity of the Government. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 472/1 Alaric..greatly mitigated the persecuting policy of his father Euric towards the Catholics. 1949 A. Koestler Promise & Fulfilm. iv. 40 It is conceivable that they could have achieved sufficient pressure at least to mitigate the immigration bar of 1939. 1965 W. Mitchell tr. G. Huyghe Relig. Orders Mod. World i. 6 The mendicant Orders..while in part adopting the monastic and canonical forms of organization..plainly mitigated them to enable their members to go out and preach. †b. transitive. spec. To lessen the stringency of (an obligation). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > be exempt from (a liability or obligation) [verb (transitive)] > remit (an obligation) quitc1300 remit1405 pardon1433 to dispense with1530 dispense1532 mitigate1651 1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 2 Your Majesty knows..my obligation to him, which difference in opinion shall never mitigate in point of affection. 4. a. transitive. To reduce the severity of (a punishment). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > specifically a punishment or law assuagec1300 mitigatea1533 a1533 [implied in: Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. L vj His chastysement was mitigate, and more easye. (at mitigate adj.)]. 1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII c. 8 To diminish or mitigate the penalties. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 200 I haue spoke thus much to mittigate the iustice of thy plea. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 76 That I may mitigate thir doom. View more context for this quotation 1699 in H. Paton Penninghame Parish Rec. (1933) I. 32 The session..think it convenient to mitigat his sentence. 1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. viii. 52 Honour likewise endeavoured to vindicate his Crime, and Pity to mitigate his Punishment. View more context for this quotation 1851 C. Dickens Bill-sticking in Househ. Words 22 Mar. 604/1 They were..fined..five pounds..but..the magistrate..mitigated the fine to fifteen shillings. 1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey II. 284 As she could not reverse the curse..she did what she could to mitigate it by substituting for death a sleep of a hundred years' duration. 1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 434/2 Within the twelve yards line, a referee must enforce law 13, and has no power to mitigate the penalty. 1977 Irish Press 29 Sept. 4/3 Two fines of £100, mitigated to £2 each, were imposed. b. transitive. To reduce or moderate (a price). Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (transitive)] > lower (price) weaken1530 mitigate1542 abase1551 fall1564 to beat the price1591 to bring down1600 to fetch down1841 degrade1844 to roll back1942 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII c. 7 Suche Lordes..shall..haue the same auctoritie to mittigate, and enhaunce the price of wynes..as..occasion shall require. 1619 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1878) III. 88 That ane certain number of merchands..sould mitigatt the pryces of the fraught. 1971 Nature 12 Mar. 69/2 Should there not..be some kind of rebate for bulk delivery or, more workably, a charge for single delivery which is mitigated by bulk delivery? c. transitive. To extenuate or lessen the gravity of (an offence, a wrongdoing). ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > excuse (a person or fault) [verb (transitive)] > extenuate whiteOE gloze1390 colourc1400 emplasterc1405 littlec1450 polish?c1450 daub1543 plaster1546 blanch1548 flatter1552 extenuate1570 alleviate1577 soothe1587 mincea1591 soothe1592 palliate1604 sweeten1635 rarefy1637 mitigate1651 glossa1656 whitewash1703 qualify1749 1651 A. Weamys Contin. Sydney's Arcadia 71 If you had been guiltie as you are not, I should rather choose to mitigate your crime, than any way to heighten it. 1721 E. Young Revenge iii. i Then you must pardon me, If I presume to mitigate the crime. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. vi. 230 Tho' Grace..had forfeited all Title to Modesty..she..attempted to mitigate the Offence. View more context for this quotation 1862 J. H. Burton Book-hunter (1863) 301 It may perhaps do something to mitigate Surtees's offence in the eye of the world. 1907 G. C. Whitworth Indian Eng. xii. 248 The offence is much mitigated if..the word is followed by ‘if’ instead of the usual infinitive, as ‘I'll thank you to be quiet.’ 1992 J. Mansell Forgotten Fire (BNC) viii I let you go ahead with your despicable plans. That was wrong of me, but it in no way mitigates your own actions. d. transitive. To make (a condition or custom) more humane. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > treat kindly [verb (transitive)] > make humane > specifically a condition or custom mitigate1797 humanitarianize1885 1797 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 532/1 When we reflečt upon the number of laws enacted to mitigate slavery among them [sc. the Jews],..we cannot help being of opinion [etc.]. 1835 J. B. Robertson in F. Von Schlegel Philos. of Hist. (1846) 39 Christianity first mitigated, and then abolished slavery. 1869 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. European Morals (1877) I. ii. 252 Marcus Aurelius..mitigated the gladiatorial shows. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 886/1 This regulation..was intended to mitigate the usages of war amongst the members of the league. 2017 O. Yasuaki Internat. Law in Transcivilizational World v. 356 Having been severely criticized..from the 1970s to 1980s, the Japanese government has gradually mitigated discriminatory treatment based on nationality against those who had lost their Japanese nationality. e. transitive. Civil Law. To abate or minimize (loss or damage caused to one by a wrongful act). Also intransitive in duty to mitigate.It is a legal principle that a plaintiff cannot recover damages in respect of loss that he or she could have taken reasonable steps to avoid. ΚΠ 1912 Law Rep.: Appeal Cases 689 This first principle is followed by a second, which imposes on a plaintiff the duty of taking all reasonable steps to mitigate the loss consequent on the breach. 1949 Lloyd's Law Rep. 82 459/1 They had to prove:..thirdly, that defendants took reasonable steps to mitigate their damage. 1978 P. S. James & D. J. L. Brown Gen. Princ. Law of Torts (ed. 4) xxxv. 452 Where a plaintiff has been harmed by a tort he is expected to ‘mitigate’ the damage by doing what a reasonable man would do to minimise his loss. 1998 I. Hunter Which? Guide to Employment xi. 197 An employee would not have complied with his or her duty to mitigate the loss if he or she simply took any job available paying any level of salary. 5. transitive. To moderate (the severity, rigour, etc., of something). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] > the severity of (something) mollifya1500 mitigate1571 palliate1665 1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. (lxviii. 34) The harshnesse of the metaphor was to bee mitigated. a1582 G. Buchanan Let. in Vernac. Writings (1892) 58 To mitigat sum part the acerbite of certaine wordis and sum taintis. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xxii. 52 We could greatly wish that the rigor of this their opinion were alayed and mitigated. 1660 A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 359 The strictness of the Lord's day was mitigated. 1714 J. Purcell Treat. Cholick 165 To Mitigate the Violence of the Pain. 1718 Free-thinker No. 10. 2 No Consideration upon Earth can mitigate the Heinousness of the Crime. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. x. 204 The Wickedness of the Country was principally owing to the Encouragement he had given to Vice,..by having mitigated that just and wholesome Rigour of the Law. View more context for this quotation 1849 G. P. R. James Woodman I. ix. 176 One who..strove to mitigate the bloody rigour of a civil war. 1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar ix. 96 Cæsar interceded to mitigate the severity of the punishment. 1935 H. A. L. Fisher Hist. Europe I. xiii. 164 For a time the commanding energy of the Emperor mitigated the force of these evils. 1992 J. M. Kelly Short Hist. Western Legal Theory iii. 113 The church, nevertheless, had some influence in mitigating the rigour of criminal law. †6. transitive. In physical senses: to sweeten or to free from acridity; to improve (land) by ploughing or tilling. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > reclaim [verb (transitive)] ina1387 reclaim1440 improve1523 win1531 mitigate1601 reform1607 stuba1650 regain1652 redeem1671 reduce1726 to bring to1814 to bring in1860 to break in1891 green1967 the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > adapt or adjust [verb (transitive)] > by tempering or mixing temperc1000 attemper1393 temperatea1540 attemperate1561 contemper1585 contemperate1590 mitigate1601 season1604 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 379 This tree..hath in it a certaine fat liquor..and entreth into compositions of sweet ointments, for to..mitigate the other oile. 1654 R. Codrington tr. Justinus Hist. xliii. 507 To exercise and mitigate the fields with ploughs. 7. transitive. To moderate or reduce in strength (heat, cold, light, etc.), esp. so as to make more bearable; to temper the severity of (a climate). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > make less violent or severe [verb (transitive)] temperc1000 keelc1175 slakea1300 abate?c1335 settle1338 swagea1340 modifyc1385 rebatea1398 bate1398 moder1414 releasea1425 remiss?a1425 moderate1435 alethe?1440 delaya1450 appal1470 addulce1477 mollify1496 mean?a1513 relent1535 qualify1536 temperatea1540 aplake1578 slack1589 relaxate1598 milden1603 mitigate1611 relax1612 alleniate1615 allay1628 alloy1634 castigate1653 smoothen1655 tendera1656 mitify1656 meeken1662 remitigate1671 obviscate1684 slacken1685 chastise1704 dulcify1744 absorb1791 demulceate1817 chasten1856 modulate1974 mediate1987 1611 C. Tourneur Atheist's Trag. (new ed.) ii. sig. E1^v That but mitigates The heate. 1611 Bible (King James) Wisd. xvi. 18 Sometimes the flame was mitigated, that it might not burne vp the beasts that were sent against the vngodly. 1742 W. Collins Persian Eclogues ii. 11 Or Moss-crown'd Fountains mitigate the Day. 1837 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. i. viii. 226 The winter and summer temperatures being sometimes mitigated, and at others exaggerated, in the same latitude. 1840 T. B. Macaulay Ld. Clive in Ess. (1899) 504 Many devices which now mitigate the heat of the climate, preserve health, and prolong life, were unknown. 1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) viii. §398 This current is felt as far as the Equator, mitigating the rainless climate of Peru as it goes, and making it delightful. 1932 H. Belloc Napoléon iii. 175 The..torrid day, whose heat was barely mitigated by an on-shore wind from the west. 1992 L. Wilkinson Joy Bringer (BNC) iii A cooling breeze from the lagoon mitigated the heat. †8. intransitive. To abate; to grow milder or less severe. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > lack of violence, severity, or intensity > become less violent or severe [verb (intransitive)] allayc1275 softc1300 assuage1330 swagec1330 slakea1352 stanchc1420 overslakec1425 appeasec1440 to swage ofc1440 to sit downa1555 soften1565 slack1580 mitigate1633 moderate1737 gentle1912 1633 T. James Strange Voy. 68 The cold did very little mitigate. 1738 H. Brooke tr. T. Tasso Jerusalem i. 43 But as his Years encrease, his Fires asswage Allay with Time, and mitigate with Age. 1880 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times IV. lvii. 235 The bitterness of popular feeling had very much mitigated. 9. intransitive. Originally U.S. to mitigate against: (of a fact or circumstance, an action, etc.) to be a powerful factor or consideration against; to counteract (an argument, a condition, etc.); to hinder or inhibit (an outcome). ΚΠ 1813 P. A. Browne Rep. District Court Philadelphia 333 They have not been able to discover any decision.., or any principle of the foreign attachment laws that mitigates against their opinion. 1893 N. Amer. Rev. Feb. 176 The fact that..the annual product of silver at this ration has been greater than the product of gold does not mitigate against the argument. 1932 W. Faulkner Centaur in Brass in Amer. Mercury Feb. 202/1 It's as though there were some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him. 1952 Public Opinion Q. 16 345 A persistent party activity that both mitigates against status-security and conduces to the use of ‘challenges’ in political or other discussions. 1963 Times 25 May 12/3 The British social environment and to some extent tax laws, mitigated against a modern merchant adventurer. 1977 Listener (N.Z.) 15 Jan. 30/3 The grass-court scene here, plus travel distances, are the other two factors mitigating against the bigger names coming to Auckland. 2005 C. M. Kennedy Braided Relations, Entwined Lives v. 95 Not only did state law refuse to recognize slave marriages but also customary practices mitigated against lasting slave partnerships. 10. transitive. To counteract, qualify, or moderate (something neutral or positive). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)] > neutralize or counteract fordoc1175 counterpoisec1374 correct1578 countercheck1590 countervail1590 cancel1633 counterbalance1636 counterswaya1640 countermand1645 counter-influence1667 counteract1694 destroy1726 neutralizea1797 counterweigh1825 antagonize1833 mitigate1857 kill1858 1857 ‘G. Eliot’ Amos Barton ii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 14/2 A remarkable power of language, mitigated by hesitation. 1910 E. M. Forster Howards End xiv. 119 The sky was a crimson battlefield of spring, but London was not afraid. Her smoke mitigated the splendour. 1959 J. Wood Krutch Human Nature & Human Condition iii. 43 Men may be declared legally free and equal but ways within the law are found to mitigate that freedom and that equality. 1991 Lang. in Society 20 244 Their usefulness is mitigated by a general suspicion that words and propositions are not the royal road to understanding the world. 1999 Financial Times 9 Oct. (Weekend Mag.) 13/2 My joy has been mitigated by hearing that the set text for the exam retails at a cool..£5,700. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.?a1475v.?a1425
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† mitigateadj.

mitigatev.