Monday, July 14, 2008

"Militate" and "Mitigate"

Levels of Distractibility: Who cares? = *. Some people will be distracted from your meaning: = **. Many people will be distracted from your meaning: = ***.

Question: I'm always confused by these two words. How can I remember which is which?

Answer: "Militate against...." "His bad habits militate against [work against] his success."

"Mitigate" means to soften or ease.... "The support of her family mitigated the loss of her son."

Rating of Distractibility: (**). Remember "militate against." There is no "against" with "mitigate."

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