relieve
Americanverb (used with object)
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to ease or alleviate (pain, distress, anxiety, need, etc.).
- Antonyms:
- intensify
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to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.
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to free from need, poverty, etc.
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to bring effective aid to (a besieged town, military position, etc.).
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to ease (a person) of any burden, wrong, or oppression, as by legal means.
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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.
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to make less tedious, unpleasant, or monotonous; break or vary the sameness of.
curtains to relieve the drabness of the room.
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to bring into relief or prominence; heighten the effect of.
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to release (one on duty) by coming as or providing a substitute or replacement.
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Machinery.
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to free (a closed space, as a tank, boiler, etc.) of more than a desirable pressure or vacuum.
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to reduce (the pressure or vacuum in such a space) to a desirable level.
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Baseball. to replace (a pitcher).
verb (used without object)
idioms
verb
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to bring alleviation of (pain, distress, etc) to (someone)
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to bring aid or assistance to (someone in need, a disaster area, etc)
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to take over the duties or watch of (someone)
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to bring aid or a relieving force to (a besieged town, city, etc)
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to free (someone) from an obligation
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to make (something) less unpleasant, arduous, or monotonous
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to bring into relief or prominence, as by contrast
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informal (foll by of) to take from
the thief relieved him of his watch
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to urinate or defecate
Synonym Usage
See comfort.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrelievingadjective
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quasi-relievedadjective
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relievableadjective
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unrelievableadjective
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unrelievedadjective
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unrelievingadjective
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relievedlyadverb
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unrelievedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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relievesimple
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relievessimple
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have relievedperfect
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has relievedperfect
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am relievingprogressive
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are relievingprogressive
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is relievingprogressive
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have been relievingperfect progressive
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has been relievingperfect progressive
Past
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relievedsimple
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had relievedperfect
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was relievingprogressive
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were relievingprogressive
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had been relievingperfect progressive
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?
Vocabulary lists containing relieve
The Circuit
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How I Became a Ghost
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Slam!
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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.
He was known to enjoy pondering economic minutiae while taking lengthy baths to relieve back problems.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
Under ordinary conditions, the enzyme temporarily cuts DNA strands to relieve twisting and tension generated by routine cellular activity before reconnecting them.
From Science Daily • Jun. 21, 2026
Fashion for Relief was set up with the aim to unite the fashion industry to relieve poverty and advance health and education, by making grants to other organisations and giving resources towards global disasters.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
It raises the cost of capital, delays investment and chokes off the very capacity needed to relieve bottlenecks.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 6, 2026
“Or maybe they needed to relieve themselves,” I say.
From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell
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.
