2020-11-06 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด M - mitigate & militate

Revision M-Q

2020-11-06

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด M - mitigate & militate

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Dictionary.com

ออกเสียง mitigate = ‘MIT-i-geyt’

ออกเสียง militate = ‘MIL-i-teyt’

Dictionary.com

WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH MITIGATE

Mitigate, whose central meaning is “to lessen” or “to make less severe,”

is sometimes confused with militate,

which means “to have effect or influence; weigh on.”

This mix-up often occurs in the use of the phrase mitigate against,

as follows: This criticism in no way mitigates (read militates ) against your going ahead with your research.

Although this use of mitigate occasionally

occurs in edited writing, it is rare and is widely regarded as an error.

COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY

USAGE FOR MITIGATE

Mitigate is sometimes wrongly used where militate is meant:

his behaviour militates (not mitigates) against his chances of promotion

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Choose the Right Synonym for mitigate

RELIEVE, ALLEVIATE, LIGHTEN, ASSUAGE, MITIGATE, ALLAY

mean to make something less grievous.

RELIEVE implies a lifting of enough of a burden to make it tolerable. took an aspirin to relieve the pain

ALLEVIATE implies temporary or partial lessening of pain or distress. the lotion alleviated the itching

LIGHTEN implies reducing a burdensome or depressing weight. good news would lighten our worries

ASSUAGE implies softening or sweetening what is harsh or disagreeable. ocean breezes assuaged the intense heat

MITIGATE suggests a moderating or countering of the effect of something violent or painful. the need to mitigate barbaric laws

ALLAY implies an effective calming or soothing of fears or alarms. allayed their fears

Mitigate vs. Militate: Usage Guide

Mitigate is sometimes used as an intransitive (followed by against) where militate might be expected.

Even though Faulkner used it

some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him

— William Faulkner and one critic thinks

it should be called an American idiom,

it is usually considered a mistake.

mitigate or militate?

Would it be correct to say,

"His boyish appearance mitigated against his getting an early promotion"?

Most usage commentators would say "no."

They feel such examples demonstrate

a long-standing confusion between mitigate and the look-alike militate.

Those two words are not closely related etymologically

(mitigate descends from the Latin verb mitigare, meaning "to soften," whereas militate tracesto militare, another Latin verb that means "to engage in warfare"), nor are they particularly close in meaning (militate means "to have weight or effect").

The confusion between the two has existed for long

enough that one commentator thinks

"mitigate against" should be accepted as an idiomatic

alternative to militate,

but if you want to avoid criticism,

you should keep mitigate and militate distinct.

Collins English Dictionary

USAGE

Mitigate is sometimes wrongly used where militate is meant:

his behaviour militates (not mitigates) against his chances of promotion

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary,

usage:

mitigate against (to weigh against)

is widely regarded as an error.

The actual phrase is ‘militate against’:

This criticism in no way militates against your continuing the research.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language

Usage Note:

Mitigate, meaning "to make less severe, alleviate"

is sometimes used where militate, which means "to cause a change,"

might be expected.

The confusion arises when

the subject of mitigate is an impersonal factor or influence,

and the verb is followed by the preposition against,

so the meaning of the phrase is something like

"to be a powerful factor against" or "to hinder or prevent,"

as in His relative youth might mitigate against him in a national election.

Some 70 percent of the Usage Panel rejected this usage of mitigate against in our 2009 survey. Some 56 percent also rejected the intransitive use of mitigate meaning "to take action to alleviate something undesirable,"

in What steps can the town take to mitigate against damage from coastal storms?

Perhaps the use with against in the one instance has soured Panelists on its use in the other. This intransitive use is relatively recent in comparison with the long-established transitive use, so novelty might play a role as well.

Concise Oxford Dictionary

The verbs mitigate and militate are often confused.

Mitigate means ‘make less severe’,

as in drainage schemes have helped to mitigate this problem,

while militate is used with against to mean ‘be a powerful factor in preventing’,

as in laws that militate against personal freedom.

Dictionary of Problem Words and Expression

mitigate & militate

These “look-alikes” are easily confused.

Mitigate means “to lessen,” “to soften,” “to moderate”:

Because the culprit readily confessed his guilt, the judge mitigated the sentence.”

Militate means “to have effect or influence.”

“to operate against or for (usually against):

“The fact that he is an addict militated against him.”

“Everything militated in his favor because of mitigating circumstances in his background.”