一句話用法：講「減輕負面影響」用 mitigate——它比 reduce 更精準、更學術。
意思
Mitigate (v.) = 減輕、緩和（壞事的程度）。
關鍵：它只能配壞事——污染、風險、損害、影響。你不能 mitigate happiness 或 mitigate progress——那些是好東西。
自然搭配
- Planting more trees can help mitigate the effects of urban heat.
- Insurance is designed to mitigate the financial risks of unexpected events.
- Wearing seatbelts significantly mitigates injuries in road accidents.
- Governments should invest in flood defences to mitigate the impact of rising sea levels.
- While we cannot stop climate change overnight, we can mitigate its worst consequences.
兩個固定搭配——mitigate the effects/impact of X、mitigate the risk of X——背起來直接套。
學生常犯的錯
最常見錯誤——把 mitigate 當作 reduce 的萬用替換：
We need to mitigate plastic use. ← 怪（用量是中性，不是「壞事」） We need to reduce plastic use. ← 自然 We need to mitigate the harm caused by plastic waste. ← 自然（搭配「壞事」）
口訣：mitigate 後面接的應該是「effects / impact / damage / risk / consequences」這種帶負面意涵的詞。
另一個錯——拼字 (mitagate / metigate) 容易拼錯，背 MIT-i-GATE：MIT (一個有名的學校) + i + gate。
Band 7 同義替換
避免一篇文章 mitigate 出現三次，輪流用：
- alleviate（語感更偏「緩解痛苦」：alleviate poverty / pain / stress）
- reduce（最安全的退階，雖然沒那麼學術）
兩個並用：第一段 mitigate the effects，第二段 alleviate the burden——同一個概念兩種說法。
試試看
升級這句：
Recycling helps reduce pollution. → Recycling can help mitigate the environmental impact of consumer waste.
換動詞 + 把名詞具體化——句子從 Band 5 變 Band 7。
延伸閱讀：Band 6 → 7 詞彙升級