palliative
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
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.
In an official response to the complaint, seen by BBC News, the health board acknowledged Flora's family was affected by comments made by the palliative care team that were perceived as "insensitive".
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
The oncology team said the kindest route was to sedate Flora, but the palliative care team wanted to give the pain relief more time to take effect.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he would not be voting on the issue and has suggested that palliative and social care should be better funded before legalising assisted suicide is considered.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
The child was born with Amish lethal microcephaly, a rare genetic disorder associated with a severely shortened life expectancy, and had been receiving palliative care since shortly after birth.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
“He’ll have to take steroids to reduce the swelling in his brain and antiseizure medications. And I’d recommend palliative radiation. Do you know what that means?”
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
