Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Relieve

//ɹɪˈliːv// verb

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of. transitive

    "I was greatly relieved by the jury's verdict."

  2. 2
    provide physical relief, as from pain wordnet
  3. 3
    To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort. transitive
  4. 4
    provide relief for wordnet
  5. 5
    To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.). transitive
Show 19 more definitions
  1. 6
    alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive wordnet
  2. 7
    To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty). transitive
  3. 8
    grant exemption or release to wordnet
  4. 9
    To lift up; to raise again. obsolete
  5. 10
    relieve oneself of troubling information wordnet
  6. 11
    To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified difficulty etc.). archaic
  7. 12
    lessen the intensity of or calm wordnet
  8. 13
    To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to.

    "This shall not relieve either Party of any obligations."

  9. 14
    take by stealing wordnet
  10. 15
    To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the siege on. transitive

    "In 1574, the duke of Alva laid siege to Leiden to gain control of Holland's most beautiful and prosperous city. To relieve the siege, William of Orange and his followers opened the city's protective dikes to flush out—literally—the surrounding Spanish forces."

  11. 16
    free from a burden, evil, or distress wordnet
  12. 17
    To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc.

    "They had thought it obsolete, but, were relieved of this misapprehension by Yule’s friend Major Trotter."

  13. 18
    free someone temporarily from his or her obligations wordnet
  14. 19
    To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place.
  15. 20
    save from ruin, destruction, or harm wordnet
  16. 21
    To make (something) stand out; to make prominent, bring into relief. archaic

    "The henna should be deeply dyed to make / The skin relieved appear more fairly fair […]"

  17. 22
    grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to wordnet
  18. 23
    To urinate or defecate. euphemistic, reflexive

    "1989, Snyder v. Harmon, 562 A.2d 307 (Pa. 1989) (Zappala, J., writing for the majority), Pennsylvania Supreme Court As they traveled along L.R. 33060, one of the passengers mentioned he had to relieve himself, so Barrett stopped the car along the berm of the road, which, unbeknown to the travelers, was directly adjacent to a strip mine."

  19. 24
    To ease one's own desire to orgasm, often through masturbation to orgasm. euphemistic, reflexive

    "Nevertheless, to relieve oneself takes the edge off the desire and doesn't take advantage of others."

Etymology

From Late Middle English releven, from Old French relever, specifically from the conjugated forms such as (jeo) relieve (“I lift up”), and its source, Latin relevo (“to lift up, lighten, relieve, alleviate”), combined form of re- (“back”) + levo (“to lift”). Doublet of relevate. Compare levant, levity, etc.

See also for "relieve"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: relieve