relieve

[ ri-leev ]

/ rɪˈliv /

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See synonyms for: relieve / relieved / relieves / relieving on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

to ease or alleviate (pain, distress, anxiety, need, etc.).

to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.

to free from need, poverty, etc.

to bring effective aid to (a besieged town, military position, etc.).

to ease (a person) of any burden, wrong, or oppression, as by legal means.

to reduce (a pressure, load, weight, etc., on a device or object under stress): to relieve the steam pressure; to relieve the stress on the supporting walls.

to make less tedious, unpleasant, or monotonous; break or vary the sameness of: curtains to relieve the drabness of the room.

to bring into relief or prominence; heighten the effect of.

to release (one on duty) by coming as or providing a substitute or replacement.

Machinery.

to free (a closed space, as a tank, boiler, etc.) of more than a desirable pressure or vacuum.
to reduce (the pressure or vacuum in such a space) to a desirable level.

Baseball. to replace (a pitcher).

verb (used without object), re·lieved, re·liev·ing.

Baseball. to act as a relief pitcher: He relieved in 52 games for the Pirates last season.

OTHER WORDS FOR relieve

1 mitigate, assuage, allay, lighten, lessen, abate, diminish.

3 support, sustain.

4 aid, help, assist, succor.

See synonyms for relieve on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR relieve

1 intensify.

See antonyms for relieve on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about relieve

to relieve oneself, to urinate or defecate.

Origin of relieve

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English releven from Middle French relever “to raise,” from Latin relevāre “to reduce the load of, lighten,” equivalent to re- “again, again and again”+ levāre “to raise,” derivative of levis “light in weight”; see re-

synonym study for relieve

1-3. See comfort.

OTHER WORDS FROM relieve

re·liev·a·ble, adjectivere·liev·ed·ly

[ri-lee-vid-lee], /rɪˈli vɪd li/, adverbnon·re·liev·ing, adjectivequa·si-re·lieved, adjective

un·re·liev·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·lieved, adjectiveun·re·liev·ed·ly, adverbun·re·liev·ing, adjective

Words nearby relieve

reliefer, relief map, relief pitcher, relief valve, relier, relieve, relieved, relieve oneself, reliever, relieve someone of, relieving arch

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use relieve in a sentence

They seem to understand that what matters most in the end is whether the patient is relieved of his suffering.
How colonialism and capitalism helped place a stigma on mental illness|Balaji Ravichandran|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
Djamo relieves that stress and even allows customers to use their cards with zero fees in a wide range of services.
YC-backed Djamo is building a financial super app for consumers in Francophone Africa|Tage Kene-Okafor|February 5, 2021|TechCrunch
I was relieved to be one step safer to the people around me in the community, all the while acknowledging that my social privilege, access to technology, and vehicle had given me a major advantage.
I jumped the queue to get an expiring vaccine. Did I do the right thing?|Niall Firth|February 1, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Across the region, children giggled under snowflakes while their parents said they were relieved to see some magic back in their lives.
D.C. area’s biggest snowstorm in two years brings slick roads, but much-needed respite|Katherine Shaver, Emily Davies, Lauren Lumpkin|February 1, 2021|Washington Post

The LuxFit is also helpful for relieving back pain that crops up in the course of daily life.
This Is the Foam Roller My Family Fights Over|Abigail Wise|January 27, 2021|Outside Online
“Seth kept the team together, but his constant need to relieve himself kept the team down,” says the announcer.
James Franco and Seth Rogen Get ‘Naked and Afraid’… And It’s Hilarious|Marlow Stern|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Women have become more professional and independent, so a lot of them are looking at role revisal to relieve similar tensions.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Adam Kawalek went from Los Angeles to Gaza to try to relieve the suffering of the sick and wounded there.
A Gay Jewish Zionist American Doctor in Gaza and What He Saw|Itay Hod|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However, medications and therapies have been developed to relieve symptoms significantly.
The Burden Robin Williams Carried: Diagnosed With Parkinson’s and Depression|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Each of these developments would be good news for Tesla and would relieve the company of billions of dollars in annual costs.
Tesla’s Radical Patent Move is a Plot to Take Over the Road|Daniel Gross|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We should have to admit that the new law does little or nothing to relieve such a situation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida fell without the English commander making any apparent effort to relieve them.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
Dorothy had tried her best to relieve Letty of half her burthen, and in return had been made a bone of contention between them.
The World Before Them|Susanna Moodie
Consequently the House gave a friendly reception to a Bill intended to relieve them of some of their pecuniary burdens.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, April 28, 1920|Various

British Dictionary definitions for relieve

relieve

/ (rɪˈliːv) /

verb (tr)

to bring alleviation of (pain, distress, etc) to (someone)

to bring aid or assistance to (someone in need, a disaster area, etc)

to take over the duties or watch of (someone)

to bring aid or a relieving force to (a besieged town, city, etc)

to free (someone) from an obligation

to make (something) less unpleasant, arduous, or monotonous

to bring into relief or prominence, as by contrast

(foll by of) informal to take fromthe thief relieved him of his watch

relieve oneself to urinate or defecate

Derived forms of relieve

relievable, adjective

Word Origin for relieve

C14: from Old French relever, from Latin relevāre to lift up, relieve, from re- + levāre to lighten

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

relieve

OTHER WORDS FOR relieve

OPPOSITES FOR relieve

Idioms about relieve

Origin of relieve

synonym study for relieve

OTHER WORDS FROM relieve

Words nearby relieve

Words related to relieve

How to use relieve in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for relieve

Derived forms of relieve

Word Origin for relieve