A rare or obsolete term meaning to reduce the severity of something; to lighten a burden or make less serious (opposite of aggravate).
From de- (reverse) + gravate (from Latin gravare 'to burden/weigh down'). This is an archaic formation following the pattern of 'aggravate' with the opposite prefix.
This word is so rare that even most dictionaries have dropped it—English prefers 'mitigate,' 'alleviate,' or 'lessen'—showing how languages naturally select shorter, more common synonyms.
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