Mitigate | Most Important SAT Vocab For Real
MITIGATE most nearly means: A) intensify; B) alleviate; C) fabricate; D) scrutinize. Answer inside. 👉️
Mitigate is an important word, in the first tier of SAT words to know before test day.
📚️ Definition of Mitigate
Mitigate (verb): To make something bad less severe, less painful, or less serious; to lessen the gravity or intensity of something harmful or unpleasant. Example: mitigate the damage.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Mitigate
IPA: /ˈmɪt.ɪ.ɡeɪt/ (See IPA key)
Respelling: MIT-ih-gayt
📰 Examples of Mitigate
Here are some examples of the word mitigate:
Our city planted trees along the river to help mitigate erosion and reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rains.
Jean Valjean’s [the protagonist of the novel Les Misérables] theft of bread is the classic example of a crime that should be evaluated in its mitigating circumstances—yes, he stole a loaf of bread, but he did so to feed his sister’s starving children.
Quiz answer: B, alleviate.
🧠 Summary of Mitigate
Definition: Mitigate means to make something bad less severe; not to eliminate it completely, but to lessen the pain caused.
Examples: Sunscreen mitigates UV damage, helmets mitigate head injuries, and a sincere apology can mitigate someone’s anger.
Real-world connection: We can’t always prevent harm, but we can reduce it. From climate adaptation strategies to improved cybersecurity protocols, we take the pragmatic approach of mitigating when we can’t eliminate.
SAT relevance: Mitigate is a top-tier SAT word that frequently appears in reading passages about science, policy, and history. It also shows up in vocabulary-in-context questions, where students must recognize its near-synonyms like alleviate or ameliorate, or distinguish it from its opposites like exacerbate.
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