Mitigate or militate?
Below is a transcript of the video.
In today’s video I want to talk about two words that I see confused all the time.
So have you ever used the phrase ‘mitigate against’? As in:
“His poor exam results mitigated against him getting a place at Cambridge”.
If you have, you’re using the wrong word.
Strictly speaking, you should be using militate.
I say ‘strictly speaking’ because ‘mitigate against’ has become so common that some commentators believe ‘mitigate against’ should be accepted as a synonym for ‘militate against’.
But, if you are writing for careful readers or you are a proofreader say, you will want to recognise the correct usage of the words mitigate and militate. So let’s look at the two meanings of both words.
MITIGATE
Mitigate comes from the Latin word mitigare meaning ‘to soften’.
Today, mitigate means ‘to become or make less severe or harsh’.
For example:
“The effects of the bad weather were mitigated by raincoats and umbrellas”.
In other words, the raincoats and umbrellas made the effects of the weather less harsh.
MILITATE
Militate, on the other hand, comes from the Latin word militare meaning ‘to engage in warfare’.
And militate is the word that’s correctly most often used with against. To militate against something is to make it less possible or likely. It means potentially to stop something from happening, in the same way that a military manoeuvre might prevent an invasion.
For example:
“David decided to militate against the effects of bad weather by not leaving the house.”
In other words, David took action - or I suppose in this case inaction - against the effects of the bad weather.
HOW TO REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCE
So here’s how to remember the difference between militate and mitigate. If you mean trying to prevent something from happening, as the military does, then use militate against. If the thing you want to avoid has already happened, and it is too late for the military to make any difference then your only option is to improve, soften or mitigate the situation.
And, as a final check, if you find yourself using the word against, then you should always correctly use militate, not mitigate.
This video is a sample lecture from my flagship writing course.
For more writing advice, enrol in my online course, Writing With Confidence, available at the Doris and Bertie Writing School.
