militate or mitigate? These two words are sometimes confused. Militate is related in form and meaning to militant and military, and its earliest meaning is ‘to serve as a soldier’ or ‘to fight’. It is usually followed by against and in modern English means ‘to exert a powerful influence against’ or ‘make very difficult or unlikely’: Present circumstances militate against an early resumption of peace talks. Mitigate is followed by a direct object and means ‘to make less severe’: measures intended to mitigate the harshness of prison life