palliate
[pal-ee-eyt]
verb (used with object), pal·li·at·ed, pal·li·at·ing.
to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate; alleviate.
to try to mitigate or conceal the gravity of (an offense) by excuses, apologies, etc.; extenuate.
Origin of palliate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for palliate
lessen, relieve, soften, soothe, disguise, whiten, allay, varnish, ease, hide, sugarcoat, assuage, mask, camouflage, mollify, white, moderate, screen, veneer, exculpateExamples from the Web for palliate
Historical Examples of palliate
This expedient to palliate my folly was thought of—but not by me.
Some ReminiscencesJoseph Conrad
We have no wish to palliate any act of Calvin's which is manifestly wrong.
Fox's Book of MartyrsJohn Foxe
There was even a palpable deficiency in Henrys claim, which no art could palliate.
King Henry the FifthWilliam Shakespeare
This was a political fault, which no circumstances can palliate.
Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of George the ThirdThe Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
There are things which cannot be extenuated however we may try to palliate them.
The Coming Conquest of EnglandAugust Niemann
palliate
verb (tr)
Word Origin for palliate
C16: from Late Latin palliāre to cover up, from Latin pallium a cloak, pallium
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
palliate
[păl′ē-āt′]
v.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.