Mitigate (verb)

1. Make something less severe, serious, or painful.
2. Lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of something bad.

Origin:

Late middle english: from latin mitigat- "softened, appeased", from the verb mitigare.

Examples:

1. The company took steps to mitigate the environmental impact of its operations.
2. The government introduced measures to mitigate the effects of the recession.
3. The new law is intended to mitigate the risk of fraud.
4. The company's actions helped to mitigate the damage caused by the data breach.
5. The lawyer's arguments helped to mitigate the punishment for the defendant.