PTE Word of the Week: ‘Mitigate’ and how to use it for a higher score
‘Mitigate’ is one of the highest-value academic verbs for PTE. Here's what it means, the exact collocations to memorise, example sentences for essays and speaking, and the mistakes to avoid.
Published 7 June 2026 · 3 min read · PTE Mocks editorial team
In one line
Mitigate (verb, /ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/) means to make something bad less severe. It's one of the highest-value academic verbs you can drop into a PTE essay or spoken answer to sound precise and fluent.
What it means
To mitigate something is to reduce how serious, painful or damaging it is, without necessarily removing it completely. You mitigate a risk, an effect, a consequence or damage. The noun is mitigation (“flood-mitigation measures”).
Why it scores in PTE
PTE's automated scorer rewards a precise, varied vocabulary and well-linked ideas: the Vocabulary and Written/Oral Discourse traits. A word like “mitigate” does more work than “reduce” or “make less bad”: it's exact, academic and natural in the cause-and-effect sentences essays and Describe Image answers are built on. Used correctly, it lifts your range without sounding forced. Our guide to linking words for PTE covers the connectors that support the same discourse trait.
Collocations to memorise
- mitigate the effects / impact of: “steps to mitigate the effects of climate change”
- mitigate the risk of: “regular testing mitigates the risk of failure”
- mitigate the damage / consequences
- measures / steps to mitigate
- help (to) mitigate: “trees help mitigate urban heat”
Example sentences
- Essay: “Governments can mitigate the impact of automation by funding large-scale retraining programmes.”
- Summarize Written Text: “The author argues that early intervention can mitigate the long-term effects of childhood stress.”
- Describe Image: “The chart suggests renewable energy could mitigate the steep rise in emissions after 2010.”
- Speaking (Re-tell Lecture): “The speaker explained how green roofs mitigate the urban heat-island effect.”
How to use it for a higher score
Reach for “mitigate” in any answer about problems and solutions in environment, technology, health or society. It fits the classic essay move: state a problem, then a measure that mitigates it. In speaking, it keeps you fluent because the collocations (“mitigate the effects of…”) come out as a single chunk, so you don't hesitate. See how a word like this fits a full essay model answer.
Common mistakes to avoid
- “mitigate against” is widely considered incorrect: you mitigate something, not against it. (If you mean “work against”, the word is militate against.)
- It means reduce, not eliminate, so don't write “mitigate the problem completely”.
- It's a verb. The noun is mitigation; there is no “a mitigate”.
Words in the same family
alleviate (ease suffering, as in alleviate poverty/pain), curb (limit, as in curb spending), lessen, offset (counterbalance) and ease. Rotate these so you're not repeating one word across an essay; variety is exactly what the Vocabulary trait rewards.
Frequently asked
What does ‘mitigate’ mean?
To make something bad less severe or serious. You mitigate a risk, an effect or damage; you reduce it, though not necessarily remove it entirely.
Is ‘mitigate’ good to use in a PTE essay?
Yes. It signals precise, academic vocabulary, which lifts your Vocabulary and Written Discourse traits, as long as you use it naturally and correctly in a problem-and-solution sentence.
What's the difference between ‘mitigate’ and ‘alleviate’?
Both reduce something negative. ‘Mitigate’ leans toward reducing severity or risk (mitigate the impact); ‘alleviate’ leans toward easing suffering or a burden (alleviate poverty, alleviate pain).
How do you pronounce ‘mitigate’?
/ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/, said MIT-i-gate. Three syllables, with the stress on the first.
Put it to the test
Free, full-length PTE mock tests, scored by AI. See where you really stand.