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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

"Today's move opens up opportunities for the site, but does not relieve Volkswagen of its responsibility to create solid prospects for the remaining employees as well," she said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

Barry Jonas, a gaming analyst at Truist Securities, said the company still has numerous ways to relieve the financial pressure it is facing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

"This is particularly remarkable given that none of the established treatments had previously been able to relieve their symptoms adequately."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

And also Katie Dippold spoke to this, the creator and writer, where she said she kind of thought one can almost relieve the other.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

He let out a sigh that did nothing to relieve the pressure he felt on his lungs and heart.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

Discovery board, Paramount says it will agree to fully backstop an exchange offer that relieves WBD of its contractual bondholder obligations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 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

She relieves herself in the bedpan at the foot of Madame Manec’s bed.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

But I was nonetheless relieved that Pericles’ happy ending is intact — a reassuring sight in our age of successive disasters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

So, instead of feeling relieved, investors can rush for the exits.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Tim Costello, a former chief executive of World Vision Australia, said he was enormously relieved that Mr. Halabi gained his freedom and “burst into tears.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

"I've never participated in anything of such high stakes before. It was all international judges, but I was relieved and excited when I qualified. And then the next whirlwind happened," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

They look almost as relieved as my mom and Mika to see G sitting there in one piece.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

There’s no real harm in relieving that stress by laughing at the antics of President Camacho.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Or did she act in the throes of postpartum psychosis, relieving her of criminal responsibility, as her defense claims?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres has been tasked with co-ordinating the response, relieving the Ceuta local government of that responsibility.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

LA28 will rely on mostly existing venues for both the Olympics and Paralympics, relieving many of the biggest headaches that have plagued previous organizing committees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The invention of grafting was hardly just a matter of some nomad relieving herself at a latrine and returning later to be pleasantly surprised by the resulting crop of fine fruit.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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