Master confusing words with ease
Militate vs. Mitigate
Militate
Examples:
His lack of effort may militate against his promotion.Their arguments will hardly militate for a drastic change.Circumstances did not militate in their favor this time.
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Antonyms:
Mitigate
/ˈmɪtəɡeɪt/Examples:
The company took steps to mitigate the potential risks.Strategies were developed to mitigate environmental damage.He worked tirelessly to mitigate the community's concerns.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Ways to tell them apart:
- Militate has a more forceful connotation, like military, which helps to remember its meaning is about having a strong effect against something.
- Militate often involves actions or circumstances that influence or determine an outcome, keeping the element of force in mind.
- Mitigate, with the soft g sound, is about reducing or softening an effect, since it's about lessening severity.
- Mitigate is generally used when the intent is to make something less harsh or severe, think of it as making conditions more mild.
- Both words are often related to outcomes but militate is used for opposing and mitigate for alleviating.
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