Intensifiers and Mitigators
Intensifiers make adjectives and adverbs stronger. Mitigators make them weaker. Both help you express exactly how strong or mild something is.
Intensifiers
Intensifiers are adverbs that strengthen the meaning of the adjective or adverb they modify. They express a high or extreme degree.
| Intensifier | Strength | Example |
|---|---|---|
| absolutely, completely, totally, utterly, perfectly, entirely | Maximum (non-gradable adjectives) | She was absolutely exhausted. That's completely wrong. |
| very, extremely, incredibly, highly, terribly, awfully | High (gradable adjectives) | He is very talented. It was extremely difficult. |
| really, so, quite (AmE) | Moderate to high | She is really kind. I'm so tired. |
Mitigators
Mitigators reduce the strength of an adjective or adverb — they express a lesser degree.
| Mitigator | Example |
|---|---|
| fairly, quite (BrE), rather, somewhat, slightly, a little, a bit | It was fairly cold. She seemed rather upset. He's a bit tired. |
Gradable vs. non-gradable adjectives
Gradable adjectives (e.g. cold, tired, happy) exist on a scale and can be modified by intensifiers and mitigators. Non-gradable (absolute) adjectives (e.g. freezing, exhausted, perfect) are already extreme — they take absolute intensifiers, not 'very'.
| Gradable | Non-gradable extreme | Correct intensifier |
|---|---|---|
| cold | freezing | absolutely freezing (not very freezing) |
| tired | exhausted | completely exhausted |
| funny | hilarious | absolutely hilarious |
| bad | terrible | utterly terrible |
The film was very good. (gradable)
The film was absolutely brilliant. (extreme — correct intensifier)
She was slightly disappointed. (mitigator — softens the feeling)
He seemed rather confused by the question. (mild mitigator)
Tip: 'Quite' works differently in British and American English. In BrE, 'quite' is a mitigator ('quite good' = fairly good). In AmE, 'quite' intensifies ('quite good' = very good).