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Synonyms

relieve

American

[ri-leev] / rɪˈliv /

verb (used with object)

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

Synonyms:

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

Antonyms:

intensify
to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.
to free from need, poverty, etc.

Synonyms:

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

Synonyms:

succor, assist, help, aid
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.
1. to free (a closed space, as a tank, boiler, etc.) of more than a desirable pressure or vacuum.
2. to reduce (the pressure or vacuum in such a space) to a desirable level.
Baseball. to replace (a pitcher).

verb (used without object)

Baseball. to act as a relief pitcher.

He relieved in 52 games for the Pirates last season.

idioms

to relieve oneself, to urinate or defecate.

relieve British

/ rɪˈliːv /

verb

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
informal (foll by of) to take from

the thief relieved him of his watch
to urinate or defecate

"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

Synonym Usage

See comfort.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

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-

Explanation

To relieve is to ease a burden or take over for someone. An aspirin can relieve a headache, and a substitute can relieve the teacher who fell asleep on her desk after lunch. Relieve comes from the Latin word relevare meaning "to help" or "make light again." An ice pack might relieve a pain in your elbow, but you can also be relieved of your duties if you get fired (or taken out to lunch). A thief might even relieve you of your wallet. Like thief, relieve is the rare word that actually follows the "i" before "e" rule ("i" before "e" except after "c" or when sounded as "a" as in "neighbor" and "weigh"). Aren't you relieved?

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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.

See Examples For:

relieve relieves relieved relieving

The U.S. is currently moving its last aircraft carrier task force out of the western Pacific to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln that is coming home after an extended deployment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Since those reports — which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth characterized as “completely misrepresented” — the U.S. military announced plans to send the USS George Washington, a Pacific-based aircraft carrier, to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

These sublethal effects can be compared to the way an over-the-counter antihistamine may relieve allergy symptoms while also causing drowsiness.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

These include repeatedly waking up throughout the night to relieve himself and "stomach aches real bad".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

His scratches are light and don’t seem intended to actually relieve any sort of itch.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

He also says the technology relieves some traditional pain points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

Homan suggested ICE agents would cover entry and exit points so "that relieves that TSA officer to go to screening and to reduce those lines".

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026

“Writing it all down relieves that burden 100%,” said Francis, whose firm has created a downloadable booklet to help the process.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026

It might be safer to say that the rollback of fuel economy standards relieves one pressure valve on future car price increases.

From Barron's ● Dec. 4, 2025

Boggs relieves him of his weapon and goes to make a call.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Kurtis Crossthorn from Sheffield, who is registered blind, said the change would be "very welcome" and would make many disabled people feel "relieved" and "heard".

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

During the in-person meeting at the Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, Navy leaders were unable to tell families when their loves ones would be relieved from duty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

His term expires in January, and many Minnesotans will be relieved to see him go.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

"After we managed to retrieve them and bury them, perhaps we can be partially relieved despite the pain of loss and all we're still living through."

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

“Bill, bill, ad . . . ,” Chip flipped through the stack, sounding more relieved with each letter that wasn’t a plain envelope addressed to him, without a return address.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East isn’t just important for the supply of raw crude itself, but is also essential for relieving global refining capacity.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026

He joked about the traffic — relieving everyone’s driving and parking stress.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

"It's relieving to talk about something where you're a winner."

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

Firefighters on Saturday night found a potential crack in the tank that may be relieving some pressure inside.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

The sun has gone down, relieving us of its burning rays.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023