palliation

American  

[pal-ee-ey-shuhn] / ˌpæl iˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of relieving a patient’s suffering without curing the disease that is causing it.

   The Academy provides authoritative, evidence-based advice to support policy for the prevention, management, and palliation of cancer.

2. the act of mitigating or concealing the gravity of an offense by excuses, apologies, etc..

   No matter how events are viewed, there is no palliation for such crimes as the recent massacre of an entire family.

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Other Word Forms

• nonpalliation noun

Etymology

Origin of palliation

First recorded in 1400–50, for a previous sense; palliat(e) ( def. ) + -ion ( def. )

Example Sentences

But the world has always brimmed with bad songs, and worse poems, that are born of authentic pain; sincerity of feeling, in art, guarantees nothing but the passing palliation of the feeler.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 1, 2015

The Earth as we now know it resembles a patient whose terminal cancer we can choose to treat either with disfiguring aggression or with palliation and sympathy.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 30, 2015

More than four in 10 Americans now meet their end in hospice care, drawn by its promise of palliation and pain alleviation instead of extreme measures in their waning days.

From BusinessWeek • Jul. 22, 2011

For the aficionados of the working and middle classes, it is art, poetry, music, the sole palliation of the boredom of the office and workbench.

From Time Magazine Archive

The magistrate said he had little doubt that it was a mere invention of the coachman's; and even admitting his story to be true, it would be no palliation of his offence.

From Mornings at Bow Street A Selection of the Most Humorous and Entertaining Reports which Have Appeared in the 'Morning Herald' by Wight, John