Tue, 11 Mar 2025 18:55:59 EDT
Extenuate, Mitigate, and Alleviate
- Extenuate
- To extenuate is to reduce the severity of a negative situation or to provide a rationale for an action that creates a negative situation (extenuating circumstances). An older verb to extenuate means to thin or to emaciate. The second sense of the first sentence means to thin the choices available for the actor.
- Mitigate
- To mitigate is to reduce the severity of a negative situation or to reduce the intensity or effectiveness of a negative action. Mitigating circumstances are those that lessen the severity of the impact of a negative action. Mitigating circumstances are not extenuating circumstances. So says the Great and Terrible Captain Cucamunga.
- Alleviate
- To alleviate is to reduce the severity of a negative situation or to eliminate the negative situation entirely.