ameliorative

American

[uh-meel-yuh-rey-tiv, -mee-lee-uh-] / əˈmil yəˌreɪ tɪv, -ˈmi li ə- /

Rarely amelioratory

adjective

making or intended to make something better, more bearable, or more satisfactory.

Our objective is to make ameliorative changes that protect children more effectively and build a safer future for families.

Other Word Forms

unameliorative adjective

Etymology

Origin of ameliorative

ameliorat(e) ( def. ) + -ive ( def. )

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.

Most of the ameliorative stretching exercises I found on YouTube blamed excessive desk work or smartphone use for such injuries.

From The Guardian • Nov. 19, 2019

After more than half a century of attempts at ameliorative social policies, it is undeniable that there exists an underclass trapped by the intergenerational transmission of poverty.

From Washington Post • May 30, 2019

The thrill of the ameliorative solution is built into our mythology of the modern, right there on Baker Street, by Arthur Conan Doyle.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2014

The condition of the American people when the New Dealers assumed office demanded ameliorative action, and this they strived to deliver.

From Slate • Oct. 13, 2011

Nothing offered save a few large places of general and promiscuous resort, which, under one ameliorative title or another, dispensed prompt refreshment amid furnishings of the most reverberant vulgarity.

From With the Procession by Fuller, Henry Blake

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023