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mitigate

/ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/  ·  say it: MIT·i·gayt

to make less severe or serious

In Sophisticated Everyday

In more detail

1. (verb) to make something less severe or serious

2. (verb) to reduce the seriousness of something by providing an explanation or excuse

Examples

• 1. The new air filter will mitigate the pollution problem in the city.
• 2. The defendant's lawyer argued that his difficult childhood might mitigate his crimes.

Nearby in Sophisticated Everyday

impartial, indispensable, inherent, obsolete, paramount, perpetual