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:
“This suggests that monetization may start ramping faster than spending, which should support stronger future revenue growth and further alleviate concerns about ROIC.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
More than 100 people filled the auditorium at the air district’s headquarters in Diamond Bar to call on the hearing board to adopt these measures and help alleviate the nauseating smells.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
However, to alleviate the drought there would still need to be a prolonged spell of rain over a number of days and weeks.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
After his return, he became head of the anthropology department at Cornell University, from which position he led its celebrated efforts to alleviate poverty in the Andes.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Günter is attracted to Freud’s science of the mind because he believes that it alleviates unhappiness, but he is learning that the analyst can be distant and dictatorial, like some all-knowing but uncaring deity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 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
"Although we know that some atoms 'jump' into nearby empty spaces, how this process alleviates stress has long been a mystery."
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2024
Usually, a ten-day antibiotic treatment alleviates the symptoms, or a fast in-office medical procedure can release the pressure.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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
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
Anthropic announced a partnership called Project Glasswing on Tuesday, which alleviated some fears.
From Barron's ● Apr. 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
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
Over the course of 50 minutes, therapists focus on alleviating tension and fatigue in the legs and feet, which often feel the brunt of a long flight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 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
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
Sasse, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in December, has credited daraxonrasib with shrinking tumors and alleviating his pain along with morphine, touting it as a “miracle drug” in a recent interview.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
It was stunning to Mariam how quickly alleviating hunger became the crux of their existence.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
