Adjacent Words

Relieve definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

RELIE'VE, v.t. [L. relevo. See Relief.]
1. To free, wholly or partially, from pain, grief, want, anxiety, care, toil, trouble, burden, oppression or any thing that is considered to be an evil; to ease of any thing that pains the body or distresses the mind. Repose relieves the wearied body; a supply of provisions relieves a family in want; medicines may relieve the sick man, even when they do not cure him. We all desire to be relieved from anxiety and from heavy taxes. Law or duty, or both, require that we should relieve the poor and destitute.
2. To alleviate or remove; as when we say, to relieve pain or distress; to relieve the wants of the poor.
3. To dismiss from a post or station, as sentinels, a guard or ships, and station others in their place. Sentinels are generally relieved every two hours; a guard is usually relieved once in twenty four hours.
4. To right; to ease of any burden, wrong or oppression by judicial or legislative interposition, by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses and the like.
5. To abate the inconvenience of any thing by change, or by the interposition of something dissimilar. The moon relieves the luster of the sun with a milder light.
The poet must not encumber his poem with, too much business, but sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection.
6. To assist; to support.
Parallels or like relations alternately relieve each other; when neither will pass asunder, yet are they plausible together.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" [syn: relieve, alleviate, palliate, assuage]
2: free someone temporarily from his or her obligations [syn: take over, relieve]
3: grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to; "She exempted me from the exam" [syn: exempt, relieve, free] [ant: apply, enforce, implement]
4: lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears" [syn: still, allay, relieve, ease]
5: save from ruin, destruction, or harm [syn: salvage, salve, relieve, save]
6: relieve oneself of troubling information [syn: unbosom, relieve]
7: provide relief for; "remedy his illness" [syn: remedy, relieve]
8: free from a burden, evil, or distress
9: take by stealing; "The thief relieved me of $100"
10: grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class" [syn: excuse, relieve, let off, exempt]
11: alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive; "relieve the pressure and the stress"; "lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents" [syn: relieve, lighten]

Merriam Webster's

verb (relieved; relieving) Etymology: Middle English releven, from Anglo-French relever to raise, relieve, from Latin relevare, from re- + levare to raise — more at lever Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to free from a burden ; give aid or help to b. to set free from an obligation, condition, or restriction c. to ease of a burden, wrong, or oppression by judicial or legislative interposition 2. a. to bring about the removal or alleviation of ; mitigate <helps relieve stress> b. rob, deprive <relieved us of our belongings> 3. a. to release from a post, station, or duty b. to take the place of <will relieve the starting pitcher> 4. to remove or lessen the monotony of <a park relieves the urban landscape> 5. a. to set off by contrast b. to raise in relief 6. to discharge the bladder or bowels of (oneself) intransitive verb 1. to bring or give relief 2. to stand out in relief 3. to serve as a relief pitcher • relievable adjective Synonyms: relieve, alleviate, lighten, assuage, mitigate, allay mean to make something less grievous. relieve implies a lifting of enough of a burden to make it tolerable <took an aspirin to relieve the pain>. alleviate implies temporary or partial lessening of pain or distress <the lotion alleviated the itching>. lighten implies reducing a burdensome or depressing weight <good news would lighten our worries>. assuage implies softening or sweetening what is harsh or disagreeable <ocean breezes assuaged the intense heat>. mitigate suggests a moderating or countering of the effect of something violent or painful <the need to mitigate barbaric laws>. allay implies an effective calming or soothing of fears or alarms <allayed their fears>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 bring or provide aid or assistance to. 2 alleviate or reduce (pain, suffering, etc.). 3 mitigate the tedium or monotony of. 4 bring military support for (a besieged place). 5 release (a person) from a duty by acting as or providing a substitute. 6 (foll. by of) take (a burden or responsibility) away from (a person). 7 bring into relief; cause to appear solid or detached. Phrases and idioms: relieve one's feelings use strong language or vigorous behaviour when annoyed. relieve oneself urinate or defecate. Derivatives: relievable adj. reliever n. Etymology: ME f. OF relever f. L relevare (as RE-, levis light)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Relieve Re*lieve" (r?-l?v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-l?vd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Relieving.] [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis light. See Levity, and cf. Relevant, Relief.] 1. To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. [Obs.] --Piers Plowman. 2. To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to set off by contrast. Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of supernatural height. --Sir W. Scott. 3. To raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into; to remove the monotony or sameness of. The poet must . . . sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection. --Addison. 4. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or crushes; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to allevate; to-abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the wants of the poor. 5. To free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress, or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid, help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town. Now lend assistance and relieve the poor. --Dryden. 6. To release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge of any duty. Who hath relieved you? --Shak. 7. To ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses, or the like; to right. Syn: To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support; substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy; redress; indemnify.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(relieves, relieving, relieved) 1. If something relieves an unpleasant feeling or situation, it makes it less unpleasant or causes it to disappear completely. Drugs can relieve much of the pain... VERB: V n 2. If someone or something relieves you of an unpleasant feeling or difficult task, they take it from you. A part-time bookkeeper will relieve you of the burden of chasing unpaid invoices and paying bills. VERB: V n of n 3. If someone relieves you of something, they take it away from you. (FORMAL) A porter relieved her of the three large cases. VERB: V n of n 4. If you relieve someone, you take their place and continue to do the job or duty that they have been doing. At seven o'clock the night nurse came in to relieve her. VERB: V n 5. If someone is relieved of their duties or is relieved of their post, they are told that they are no longer required to continue in their job. (FORMAL) The officer involved was relieved of his duties because he had violated strict guidelines... VERB: usu passive, be V-ed of n 6. If an army relieves a town or another place which has been surrounded by enemy forces, it frees it. The offensive began several days ago as an attempt to relieve the town. VERB: V n 7. If people or animals relieve themselves, they urinate or defecate. (OLD-FASHIONED) It is not difficult to train your dog to relieve itself on command. VERB: V pron-refl

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Succor, aid, help, assist, comfort, free. 2. Allay, mitigate, assuage, soothe, lessen, palliate, ease, remedy, cure, remove, alleviate, abate, lighten, diminish. 3. Redress, indemnify, right. 4. Release, remedy. 5. Put in relief, set off by contrast. 6. Assist, help, support, sustain.

Moby Thesaurus

abate, abet, abridge, absolve, act for, aid, allay, alleviate, alternate, anesthetize, appease, assist, assuage, assure, avail, bail out, be light, bear a hand, bear up, befriend, benefit, benumb, bereave, bleed, break up, change places with, cheer, comfort, condole with, console, cover, crowd out, curtail, cushion, cut off, cut out, deaden, deaden the pain, decrease, deliver, deprive, deprive of, differ, differentiate, diminish, disburden, discharge, disencumber, disentitle, dispense, displace, dissent, disunify, divaricate, diverge, diversify, divest, do a hitch, do a stint, do a tour, do good, do time, doctor, double for, drain, dull, ease, ease matters, ease one of, encourage, enlist, excuse, favor, fill in, fill in for, foment, free, ghost, ghostwrite, give a boost, give a hand, give a lift, give comfort, give help, give relief, have a go, have little weight, have tenure, hearten, help, hold office, keep a watch, kick the beam, knock off, knock over, lay, lend a hand, lend one aid, lessen, let, liberate, lift, lighten, lighten one of, loot, lull, make light, make lighter, milk, mine, mitigate, moderate, mollify, numb, off-load, pad, palliate, pinch-hit, plunder, poultice, pour balm into, pour oil on, proffer aid, protect, put at ease, qualify, quiet, raise, rally, ransack, re-up, reassure, reclaim, redeem, reduce, reduce weight, reenlist, release, remedy, render assistance, replace, represent, rescue, restore, resuscitate, revive, rid, rifle, rob, salve, save, serve time, set at ease, set up, sign up, slacken, slake, soften, solace, soothe, spare, spell, spell off, stand in for, stick up, stupe, sub, subdue, subrogate, substitute, substitute for, succeed, succor, supersede, supplant, supply, support, swap places with, sympathize with, take away from, take from, take in tow, take over, take turns, tap, temper, time off, unballast, unburden, understudy for, unlade, unload, variate, variegate, vary, weigh lightly