palliate

American  

[pal-ee-eyt] / ˈpæl iˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

palliated, palliating

1. to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate; alleviate.

2. to try to mitigate or conceal the gravity of (an offense) by excuses, apologies, etc.; extenuate.

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palliate British  

/ ˈpælɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. to lessen the severity of (pain, disease, etc) without curing or removing; alleviate; mitigate

2. to cause (an offence) to seem less serious by concealing evidence; extenuate

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Other Word Forms

• palliation noun
• palliator noun
• unpalliated adjective

Etymology

Origin of palliate

First recorded in 1540–50, palliate is from the Late Latin word palliātus cloaked, covered. See pallium, -ate ¹

Explanation

When you palliate something, you try to make something less bad: “City leaders tried to palliate effects of the trash haulers' strike by distributing extra large garbage cans with tight-fitting lids.” Palliate is the word to use when you want to make something feel or seem better. Palliate doesn’t mean “cure” or “solve.” Instead, something that palliates relieves the symptoms or consequences of something, without addressing the underlying cause. Your dentist might give you pain-killing drugs to palliate the discomfort caused by an impacted molar, but that molar is still there, waiting to cause more trouble.

Example Sentences

The easing of lockdown restrictions coincides with preparations by the cash-strapped Caribbean island nation for its tourist high season, which it hopes will bring much-needed dollars to palliate a dire economic crisis.

From Reuters • Sep. 24, 2021

His role, he said, was “not to ‘sell’ the U.S.A. but to ‘explain’ it, not to palliate its blemishes but to contextualize them.”

From New York Times • May 3, 2016

Results palliate everything, but without them significant fault lines are exposed.

From The Guardian • Dec. 2, 2015

Ultimately, biomedical research offers no value to the public if our work does not result in the availability of safe and effective interventions to cure, treat, palliate, diagnose, and prevent disease.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 4, 2013

During the interval of these few hours of abandonment nothing can palliate or excuse, George Borrow died as he had lived—alone! 

From The Life of George Borrow by Shorter, Clement K.