mitigar
verbCEFR B2
What does “mitigar” mean in English?
to mitigate
to mitigate (to lessen the severity or impact of something negative without eliminating it; mitigar el impacto)
Example sentences
Las medidas adoptadas pueden mitigar los efectos más inmediatos de la crisis, pero no atacan sus causas profundas.
The measures adopted can mitigate the most immediate effects of the crisis, but they do not address its root causes.
Mitigar el cambio climático requiere una reducción drástica de las emisiones en los próximos diez años.
Mitigating climate change requires a drastic reduction in emissions over the next ten years.
El fondo de ayuda fue creado para mitigar el impacto de la reestructuración sobre los trabajadores afectados.
The aid fund was created to mitigate the impact of the restructuring on affected workers.
How to use it
Mitigar means 'to mitigate' — to lessen the severity, force, or impact of something negative without necessarily eliminating it. It is a formal verb that appears widely in policy texts, environmental journalism, and social commentary. It always takes a direct object (what is being lessened): mitigar el impacto, mitigar los efectos, mitigar el riesgo. Close synonyms are paliar (ease suffering/symptoms) and aliviar (relieve a burden) — but mitigar tends to be more technical and policy-facing, while paliar is more human/clinical. All three form a cluster that advanced learners need to distinguish.
Common mistake
Mitigar (technical, policy-facing: reduce severity of a systemic problem), paliar (ease suffering, often human/clinical: 'palliate pain'), aliviar (relieve a burden: 'relieve pressure'). These are near-synonyms but not interchangeable in register. 'Mitigar el dolor' sounds overly technical for clinical pain — use aliviar or paliar there. 'Paliar el cambio climático' sounds like treating symptoms — use mitigar for systemic impacts.