alleviate
Americanverb (used with object)
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alleviates,
present (3rd person singular)
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alleviated,
past participle, past
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alleviating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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alleviationnoun
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alleviatornoun
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alleviativeadjective
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unalleviatedadjective
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unalleviatingadjective
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unalleviatedlyadverb
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unalleviatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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alleviatesimple
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alleviatessimple
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have alleviatedperfect
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has alleviatedperfect
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am alleviatingprogressive
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are alleviatingprogressive
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is alleviatingprogressive
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have been alleviatingperfect progressive
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has been alleviatingperfect progressive
Past
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alleviatedsimple
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had alleviatedperfect
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was alleviatingprogressive
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were alleviatingprogressive
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had been alleviatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of alleviate
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English alleviaten, from Late Latin alleviātus “lightened,” past participle of alleviāre “to lighten, relieve,” from al- al- + levi(s) “light in weight” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Explanation
Do all these words make your head ache? If so, take an aspirin to alleviate, or relieve, your pain. The verb, alleviate, stems from the Latin root, levis "light" and is related to modern English words such as elevator and levitate — both words implying a lightening of one's load. Alleviate also has this sense of lightening a burden such as physical pain or emotional duress. You can take medicine to alleviate symptoms or do exercise to alleviate stress. Or if you want a bigger challenge: try alleviating traffic congestion or world hunger.
Vocabulary lists containing alleviate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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Grade 9, List 2
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Farewell to Manzanar
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A month later, Chinese authorities reportedly told Xu to use his personal wealth to alleviate his firm's debt crisis.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Adding third-party capital and credit decision-making “should arguably alleviate circularity concerns…while admittedly polarizing the debate,” Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore wrote Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
To alleviate drought though, months of above-average rainfall is needed.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
A “negative output gap, a languishing labor market, soft real income growth and unambiguously restrictive monetary policy should alleviate concerns around sticky underlying inflation in the U.K.,” von Ahlen argues.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
It alleviates some of the burden of caring for their aging parents, and it ensures that some level of care will be available as they themselves age.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
The deal alleviates concerns about rivals impacting Nvidia’s AI chip market share.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
Its supporters foresee a wave of new construction that alleviates the state’s severe shortage of affordable housing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Ardell was already working with Opportunity International, a global nonprofit that alleviates generational poverty by microfinancing community projects both in Southern California and abroad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2025
Medicine X which immediately alleviates 3 percent of all headaches in test after test is certainly better than nothing, but how much would you spend on it?
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
It’s still the summer—the August heat is alleviated in South Carolina only by late-afternoon thunderstorms.
From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026
Vivas said that while the return of nearly 75,000 migrants to Morocco had "considerably alleviated" the situation, Ceuta had not yet returned to normal.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Strong investment returns have alleviated financial pressure on state and local governments since taxpayers pay most of the bill for public worker pensions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
That alleviated some homesickness, but it didn’t get Iamaleava’s career up off the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
There is no known cure, though recent developments in potion-making have to a great extent alleviated the worst symptoms.
From "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
Microsoft on Wednesday reported $90 billion in revenue and $35.8 billion in net income for its most recently completed quarter, potentially alleviating investor concerns about whether its investments in AI are paying off.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
This is a life-changing amount of money that would dramatically improve the American people’s lives by alleviating the stress and anxiety, poor health and even premature death that comes from financial precarity.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Currency from abroad would be spent in government-owned stores, alleviating internal tension and providing the state with desperately needed foreign exchange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
The news suggested to investors that demand for software will increase, alleviating fears that vibe-coded AI software will replace traditional enterprise solutions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026
One day, a packet-ship arriving from Nova Scotia with meat, thus alleviating the city’s starvation, I purchased a salted ham-hock with Sally, and, by her side, stripped it for cooking.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
