alleviate
Americanverb (used with object)
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:
However, some experts contend that area thunderstorms on Saturday might help alleviate and disperse the worst of the concerns.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
She plans to try out treatments that might alleviate her symptoms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The Dodgers said he will undergo “some interventions” to alleviate the irritation during the All-Star break, but the team did not offer specifics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
F1 has already taken decisions that will change the ratio of internal-combustion to electrical power over the next two seasons to alleviate this issue.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
He then went on about something else, something that only makes sense when you are afraid of death or desperately in love and will say anything to alleviate the terror.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
That’s on top of the injections Leite gives herself regularly: NAD+, which she says makes her feel energized and alleviates her brain fog, and glutathione, which is marketed for antioxidant and immune support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
The deal alleviates concerns about rivals impacting Nvidia’s AI chip market share.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
“Importantly, Azure is set for another strong year as incremental capacity alleviates constraints on core and AI workloads, unlocking faster growth and reinforcing its role as a key engine alongside M365,” Thill wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 5, 2026
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
Fears that a bubble was bursting in chip stocks were alleviated by reports of robust demand for SK Hynix’s new American depositary receipts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Additionally, after OpenAI’s recent $110 billion funding round, concerns about the ChatGPT creator’s ability to pay Oracle for its compute commitments should be alleviated, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 30, 2026
Despite price volatility, the company is well run and well positioned once the end-of-year concerns are alleviated.
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
O'Neill remaining in post may have alleviated that instant pressure, but faith has been put in his replacement.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
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
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
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
Payrolls posted back-to-back gains in March and April for the first time since last May, alleviating concerns of a flagging labor market.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
Recent articles in the Naval Institute’s Proceedings argue that letters of marque would be essential in alleviating the vast numerical asymmetry between the U.S. and Chinese fleets in the event of a war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 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.
