Meaning & use
mitigating circumstances
Last updated
Meaning
nounplurallegal
Facts about a situation that help explain why someone did something wrong and may justify a lighter punishment or judgment.
Grammar: Used in the plural, usually after there are or because of.
Patterns
- because of mitigating circumstances
- take mitigating circumstances into account
- plead mitigating circumstances
The judge reduced the sentence because of mitigating circumstances.
There were mitigating circumstances: the driver had been awake for thirty hours.
The university considers mitigating circumstances such as serious illness before penalizing late work.
Common combinations
- take into account mitigating circumstances
- The panel agreed to take into account mitigating circumstances.
- claim mitigating circumstances
- She claimed mitigating circumstances after missing the exam.
- in view of mitigating circumstances
- In view of mitigating circumstances, no fine was issued.
- there are mitigating circumstances
- There are mitigating circumstances, but the rule still matters.
- without mitigating circumstances
- Without mitigating circumstances, the penalty is automatic.
Synonyms and how they differ
- extenuating circumstances
- It means almost the same and is common in schools and workplaces, while mitigating circumstances is more typical of courts.
- excuses
- Excuses is looser and can sound insincere, whereas mitigating circumstances are real facts that a decision-maker weighs.
- justification
- A justification claims the act was right, while mitigating circumstances accept the act was wrong but explain it.
Opposites
Word family
- mitigate verb
- to make something less severe
- mitigation noun
- the act of making something less severe
- mitigating adjective
- making something less serious
- mitigatory adjective
- tending to lessen a penalty or harm, rare
Commonly confused: mitigating circumstances or militating?
mitigating circumstances vs militating
Militate means to work against something, as in militating against success. It looks like mitigate but has an almost opposite effect.
Practice
The court shortened his sentence after hearing that he acted under pressure, which counted as ___.
Choose one answer.
Facts that lessen the seriousness of an offence are mitigating circumstances. Aggravating circumstances would make the punishment heavier, so they do not fit a shortened sentence.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mitigating circumstances”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.