mitigating
adj.adj. making something bad, like a crime or a mistake, seem less serious or easier to forgive. You use this when there is a good reason for someone's bad behavior.
adj. describing circumstances that provide a reason for a mistake or crime to be judged less severely. Often used in legal or formal contexts to explain why a person is not fully to blame.
The judge considered the mitigating factors before the final decision.
The lawyer argued that the defendant's extreme poverty was a mitigating circumstance in the theft.
While the breach of contract was clear, the company presented several mitigating factors, including the unprecedented natural disaster that halted all local logistics.
Typically used attributively before nouns like 'circumstances', 'factors', or 'evidence'.
mitigating the problemmitigating circumstancesLearners often confuse the adjective 'mitigating' with the present participle of the verb 'mitigate'; the adjective specifically describes excuses or reasons.