RELIEF


Meaning of RELIEF in English

/ rɪˈliːf; NAmE / noun

REMOVAL OF ANXIETY / PAIN

1.

[ U , sing. ] the feeling of happiness that you have when sth unpleasant stops or does not happen :

a sense of relief

We all breathed a sigh of relief when he left.

She sighed with relief.

Much to my relief the car was not damaged.

News of their safety came as a great relief.

It was a relief to be able to talk to someone about it.

What a relief !

2.

[ U ] relief (from / of sth) the act of removing or reducing pain, anxiety, etc. :

modern methods of pain relief

the relief of suffering

HELP

3.

[ U ] food, money, medicine, etc. that is given to help people in places where there has been a war or natural disaster

SYN aid :

famine relief

a relief agency / organization / worker

4.

[ U ] ( especially NAmE ) financial help given by the government to people who need it

ON TAX

5.

[ U ] = tax relief :

relief on mortgage interest payments

STH DIFFERENT

6.

[ U , sing. ] relief (from sth) something that is interesting or enjoyable that replaces sth boring, difficult or unpleasant for a short period of time :

a few moments of light relief in an otherwise dull performance

There was little comic relief in his speech.

The calm of the countryside came as a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of city life.

WORKERS

7.

[ C +sing./pl. v . ] (often used as an adjective) a person or group of people that replaces another when they have finished working for the day or when they are sick :

The next crew relief comes on duty at 9 o'clock.

relief drivers

FROM ENEMY

8.

[ sing. ] relief of ... the act of freeing a town, etc. from an enemy army that has surrounded it

IN ART

9.

[ U , C ] a way of decorating wood, stone, etc. by cutting designs into the surface of it so that some parts stick out more than others; a design that is made in this way :

The column was decorated in high relief (= with designs that stick out a lot) with scenes from Greek mythology.

The bronze doors are covered with sculpted reliefs.

—see also bas-relief

MAKING STH NOTICEABLE

10.

[ U ] the effect of colours, light, etc. that makes an object more noticeable than others around it :

The snow-capped mountain stood out in sharp relief against the blue sky.

11.

[ U ] the quality of a particular situation, problem, etc. that makes it more noticeable than before :

Their differences have been thrown into sharp relief by the present crisis.

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WORD ORIGIN

late Middle English : from Old French , from relever raise up, relieve, from Latin relevare raise again, alleviate.

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.