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View synonyms for ameliorate

ameliorate

[ uh-meel-yuh-reyt, uh-mee-lee-uh- ]

verb (used with or without object)

, a·mel·io·rat·ed, a·mel·io·rat·ing.
  1. to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve:

    strategies to ameliorate negative effects on the environment.

    Synonyms: better, amend

    Antonyms: worsen, vitiate



ameliorate

/ əˈmiːljəˌreɪt; əˈmiːljərəbəl /

verb

  1. to make or become better; improve
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Usage

Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate is properly used to mean `improve', not `make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it
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Derived Forms

  • ameliorable, adjective
  • aˈmelioˌrator, noun
  • aˈmeliorative, adjective
  • aˈmeliorant, noun
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Other Words From

  • a·mel·io·ra·ble adjective
  • a·mel·io·ra·ble·ness noun
  • a·mel·io·rant noun
  • a·mel·io·ra·tive a·mel·io·ra·to·ry [uh, -, meel, -yer-, uh, -tawr-ee, uh, -, mee, -lee-, uh, -], adjective
  • a·mel·io·ra·tor noun
  • un·a·mel·io·ra·ble adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ameliorate1

First recorded in 1770–75; a- 5 + meliorate
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ameliorate1

C18: from meliorate , influenced by French améliorer to improve, from Old French ameillorer to make better, from meillor better, from Latin melior
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Example Sentences

Fixing the current situation will involve ameliorating their effects and recognizing Haitians as fellow human beings, our neighbors with whom we share a long history.

His decree for a day of national prayer, fasting and humiliation did little to ameliorate cholera’s lethal spread, but it might have made tens of thousands of Americans feel a bit better before meeting their maker.

I hope to one day ameliorate these stressors, so that you don’t have to anymore.

These pro-labor policies did much to ameliorate the wide disparity between rich and poor and led to nearly a half-century of middle-class growth.

For a few years now, my colleagues and I have been exploring the potential of these networks to find more ways drugs could ameliorate disease.

He wants to attack the root causes of poverty rather than simply ameliorate root symptoms.

At the time, Bratton sought to ameliorate the tension between the LAPD and Muslims.

Our first priority should be to ameliorate those circumstances.

Scientists therefore have to examine all those genes en masse to cure or ameliorate the disease.

“Isolation itself is very damaging, and there is no way to ameliorate it,” Kupers told The Daily Beast.

Still the King managed to retain his popularity, and in his own way attempted to ameliorate the lot of his subjects.

And the Church never, never raised a finger to ameliorate their condition.

That was an evil with which the clergy did not grapple; they would ameliorate it, but did not seek to remove it.

By the law de provinciis ordinandis, he sought to regulate the provinces and ameliorate their administration.

Many physicians had exerted their utmost skill in endeavouring to ameliorate his condition.

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Related Words

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When To Use

What are other ways to say ameliorate?

To ameliorate is to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory. How is it different from the verbs improve and better? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

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ameliaameliorated