palliative
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- nonpalliative adjective
- nonpalliatively adverb
- palliatively adverb
- unpalliative adjective
Etymology
Origin of palliative
From the French word palliatif, dating back to 1535–45. See palliate, -ive
Explanation
That which is palliative relieves and soothes, but isn’t expected to cure. A heating pack is a commonly employed palliative for temporarily reducing the pain of strained muscles. From the French palliatif, which in turn came from the Middle Latin palliates, palliative was first recorded as an adjective in the 1540’s, and then later as a noun in 1724. To palliate is to alleviate without curing, so it makes sense that a palliative is the agent for this type of relief. “Life as we find it, is too hard for us: it brings us too many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks,” said the founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud. “In order to bear it, we cannot dispense with palliative measures…”
Vocabulary lists containing palliative
The Kite Runner
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Educated
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100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
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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.
Beyond a certain age—75 or 80—spending should be on palliative care, he says, rather than costly interventions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne operate a 42-bed nursing facility in New York that gives free palliative care to poor people with cancer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Producer Robin Hiley, whose wife is a palliative care doctor, acknowledged that the failure of antibiotics might seem an unconventional subject for musical theatre.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
He said over 60,000 people die in Scotland each year and the number of people who need palliative care is "rising rapidly" - and argued for long-term sustainable funding for hospices.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
One palliative of winter on Winter is that the days stay light.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
