Palliator
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An apologist; one who justifies or excuses atrocities by citing extenuating circumstances or positive aspects.
"We never have been, are not, and never will be, directly or indirectly, the apologists or palliators of duelling."
- 2 Someone or something that palliates; A person or thing that soothes or reduces difficulties.
"The only charm within the hated walls of my prison had ceased to exist ; the galling chain of slavery threatened to crush me — for the soother, the palliator, the dear, dear friend of my bosom no longer felt a participation in my sorrows."
- 3 A medical professional who provides palliative care.
"I dislike to be a tinker; a mere palliator and work in line with old women. Years ago I found that patients were on and off the doctor's books indefinitely, and I grew tired of seeing them reappear, and I sought and found a better way to get rid of them."
- 4 A device that allows a patient to control the amount of pain medication that is added into an intravenous drip; infusion pump.
"A more sophisticated device is the Newcastle interactive palliator, in which a continuous low-dose intravenous infusion is combined with patient-operated demand increment."
Example
More examples"We never have been, are not, and never will be, directly or indirectly, the apologists or palliators of duelling."
Etymology
From palliate + -or.
Related phrases
More for "palliator"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.