amelioration
Americannoun
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an act or instance of ameliorating or making better; the state of being ameliorated or made better.
the amelioration of working conditions.
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something that ameliorates; an improvement.
noun
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the act or an instance of ameliorating or the state of being ameliorated
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something that ameliorates; an improvement
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Also called: elevation. linguistics (of the meaning of a word) a change from pejorative to neutral or positively pleasant. The word nice has achieved its modern meaning by amelioration from the earlier sense foolish, silly
Etymology
Origin of amelioration
First recorded in 1790–1800; ameliorate + -ion
Explanation
Amelioration is a process that makes something better. A philanthropist might devote her life to the amelioration of poverty and hunger. Any time there's amelioration, something negative is becoming more positive. If your landlord improves the water pressure and lowers the rent, that's amelioration. Often this word has to do with words themselves and how some change in meaning over the years, becoming more positive. A good example is terrific, which once meant "causing terror" and now means "wonderful" or "awesome." Through amelioration, terrific went from a negative meaning to a positive one.
Vocabulary lists containing amelioration
Metamorphosis
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"Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Society and Solitude
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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.
But to do so also means yelling "stop" to science, enlightenment and the amelioration of human suffering.
From Salon • Dec. 24, 2022
However this year they were looking for any indication that the country's strict Covid amelioration measures might be eased after the Communist Party Congress.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2022
That ad—and “care, compassion, change”—argues for this in a creation of good versus an amelioration of harm frame.
From Slate • May 16, 2022
“It is unclear the role that cytotoxic T cells play in amelioration of covid-19 disease,” Offit said.
From Washington Post • Jul. 20, 2020
Right away he believed that the final amelioration of all his suffering was immediately at hand.
From "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka
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.
