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

Understanding the Context

See examples of relieve used in a sentence. RELIEVE definition: 1. to make an unpleasant feeling, such as pain or worry, less strong: 2. to improve an unpleasant..

Key Insights

Learn more. Synonyms: relieve, allay, alleviate, assuage, lighten2, mitigate, palliate These verbs mean to make something less severe or more bearable. To relieve is to make more endurable something causing. Definition of relieve verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Final Thoughts

to ease, lessen, or make less unpleasant:[~ + object] Aspirin may relieve the pain. to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.:[~ + object] We were relieved by the good news. 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 noun] To alleviate, ease, or lessen the intensity, pressure, or discomfort of something. "A good night's sleep can relieve fatigue and restore energy." When you relieve something, you take action to provide.

To relieve is to ease a burden or take over for someone. An aspirin can relieve a headache, and a substitute can relieve the teacher who fell asleep on her desk after lunch. To relieve means to alleviate, reduce or remove pain, distress, pressure, or any discomforting condition. It can also refer to the act of replacing someone temporarily from their duties or responsibilities.