relieve

[ ri-leev ]

/ rɪˈliv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR relieve ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

to ease or alleviate (pain, distress, anxiety, need, etc.).

to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.

to free from need, poverty, etc.

to bring effective aid to (a besieged town, military position, etc.).

to ease (a person) of any burden, wrong, or oppression, as by legal means.

to reduce (a pressure, load, weight, etc., on a device or object under stress): to relieve the steam pressure; to relieve the stress on the supporting walls.

to make less tedious, unpleasant, or monotonous; break or vary the sameness of: curtains to relieve the drabness of the room.

to bring into relief or prominence; heighten the effect of.

to release (one on duty) by coming as or providing a substitute or replacement.

Machinery.

to free (a closed space, as a tank, boiler, etc.) of more than a desirable pressure or vacuum.
to reduce (the pressure or vacuum in such a space) to a desirable level.

Baseball. to replace (a pitcher).

verb (used without object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

Baseball. to act as a relief pitcher: He relieved in 52 games for the Pirates last season.

Idioms for relieve

to relieve oneself, to urinate or defecate.

Origin of relieve

1300–50; Middle English releven < Middle French relever to raise < Latin relevāre to reduce the load of, lighten, equivalent to re- re- + levāre to raise, derivative of levis light in weight

SYNONYMS FOR relieve

1 mitigate, assuage, allay, lighten, lessen, abate, diminish.

3 support, sustain.

4 aid, help, assist, succor.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR relieve ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR relieve

1 intensify.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR relieve ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for relieve

1. 2. 3. See comfort.

OTHER WORDS FROM relieve

re·liev·a·ble, adjective re·liev·ed·ly

[ri-lee-vid-lee] /rɪˈli vɪd li/, adverb non·re·liev·ing, adjective qua·si-re·lieved, adjective

un·re·liev·a·ble, adjective un·re·lieved, adjective un·re·liev·ed·ly, adverb un·re·liev·ing, adjective

Words nearby relieve

relief map, relief pitcher, relief valve, reliefer, relier, relieve, relieve oneself, relieve someone of, relieved, reliever, relieving arch

Example sentences from the Web for unrelieved

The sun shone brightly on the snow, which was unrelieved by a single dark object.

The Young Treasure Hunter |Frank V. Webster
They journeyed home in a constant turmoil of unrelieved wretchedness; they were not, they had never been, royal Plantagenots.

Blood Royal |Grant Allen
Civic dissolution or civic perpetuity—this was the immediate, the unrelieved, the ominous alternative.

Abraham Lincoln's Cardinal Traits; |Clark S. Beardslee
Our camp was in among the sand hills, which are unrelieved by scrub and of an almost incredible yellowness.

The Fifth Battalion Highland Light Infantry in the War 1914-1918 |F.L. Morrison

Moreover, some of his most marked literary defects were seen here exaggerated and unrelieved.

James Fenimore Cooper |Thomas R. Lounsbury

British Dictionary definitions for unrelieved

relieve

/ (rɪˈliːv) /

verb (tr)

to bring alleviation of (pain, distress, etc) to (someone)

to bring aid or assistance to (someone in need, a disaster area, etc)

to take over the duties or watch of (someone)

to bring aid or a relieving force to (a besieged town, city, etc)

to free (someone) from an obligation

to make (something) less unpleasant, arduous, or monotonous

to bring into relief or prominence, as by contrast

(foll by of) informal to take from the thief relieved him of his watch

relieve oneself to urinate or defecate

Derived forms of relieve

relievable, adjective

Word Origin for relieve

C14: from Old French relever, from Latin relevāre to lift up, relieve, from re- + levāre to lighten

Medical definitions for unrelieved

relieve

[ rĭ-lēv′ ]

v.

To cause a lessening or alleviation of something, such as pain, tension, or a symptom.

To free an individual from pain, anxiety, or distress.

Other words from relieve

re•liev′a•ble adj.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

relieve

verb (used with object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

verb (used without object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

Idioms for relieve

Origin of relieve

SYNONYMS FOR relieve

ANTONYMS FOR relieve

synonym study for relieve

OTHER WORDS FROM relieve

Words nearby relieve

Example sentences from the Web for unrelieved

British Dictionary definitions for unrelieved

verb (tr)

Derived forms of relieve

Word Origin for relieve

Medical definitions for unrelieved

v.

Other words from relieve

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

relieve

verb (used with object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

verb (used without object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

Idioms for relieve

Origin of relieve

SYNONYMS FOR relieve

ANTONYMS FOR relieve

synonym study for relieve

OTHER WORDS FROM relieve

Words nearby relieve

Words related to unrelieved

Example sentences from the Web for unrelieved

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for unrelieved

verb (tr)

Derived forms of relieve

Word Origin for relieve

Medical definitions for unrelieved

v.

Other words from relieve

British Dictionary definitions for unrelieved