re ‧ lief S2 W2 /rɪˈliːf/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: relever ; ⇨ ↑ relieve ]
1 . COMFORT [singular, uncountable] a feeling of comfort when something frightening, worrying, or painful has ended or has not happened ⇨ relieve :
I felt a huge surge of relief and happiness.
with relief
He watched with relief as the girl nodded.
in relief
He laughed in relief.
No one was hurt, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
it is a relief to see/have/know etc something
I hate to say it, but it was a relief to have him out of the house.
to sb’s relief
To my relief, they spoke English.
what a relief/that’s a relief
The doctor said it was just the flu. What a relief!
2 . REDUCTION OF PAIN [uncountable] when something reduces someone’s pain or unhappy feelings:
Marijuana can provide pain relief for some cancer patients.
relief of
the relief of suffering
relief from
The cool room provided relief from the terrible heat outdoors.
3 . HELP [uncountable] money, food, clothes etc given to people who are poor or hungry:
money raised for the relief effort
disaster/famine/flood etc relief
famine relief for victims of the drought
4 . REPLACEMENT [uncountable] a person or group of people that replaces another one and does their work after they have finished:
the relief for the military guard
a relief driver
5 . DECORATION [uncountable and countable] a way of decorating wood, stone etc with a shape or figure that is raised above the surface, or the decoration itself ⇨ bas relief
in relief
figures carved in relief
6 . bring/throw something into relief ( also stand out in relief ) to make something very noticeable, or to be very noticeable
sharp/stark relief
The tree stood out in stark relief against the snow.
The article throws into sharp relief the differences between the two theories.
7 . light/comic relief a funny moment during a serious film, book, or situation:
a moment of comic relief
8 . MONEY [uncountable] old-fashioned especially American English money given by the government to help people who are poor, old, unemployed etc SYN welfare
on relief
families on relief during the Depression
9 . WAR [uncountable] formal the act of freeing a town when it has been surrounded by an enemy
relief of
the relief of Mafeking
10 . MAP in relief if you show a part of the Earth’s surface in relief, you show the differences in height between different parts of it
⇨ ↑ tax relief
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ adjectives
▪ a great/enormous/tremendous etc relief
It was a great relief to him when she returned safely.
▪ a welcome relief
The holiday was a welcome relief from the pressure of work.
■ verbs
▪ come as a relief
The court's decision came as a huge relief to Microsoft.
▪ feel relief
I felt nothing but relief when it was over.
▪ relief floods through somebody literary
When she heard he was still alive, relief flooded through her.
■ phrases
▪ a sense/feeling of relief
She was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief.
▪ breathe/heave a sigh of relief
United fans breathed a huge sigh of relief as Drogba's shot was tipped over the bar.
▪ what a relief
What a relief to be able to say what I really feel!
▪ such a relief
It's just such a relief to have found someone!
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ NOUN + relief
▪ disaster/emergency relief
Our objective is to provide food aid and emergency relief to developing countries.
▪ famine/flood relief
We donated $1,000 to the American Red Cross for flood relief.
■ relief + NOUN
▪ a relief agency/organization
Relief agencies reported that many of the refugees had arrived in a terrible condition.
▪ relief supplies/aid
US troops had helped distribute relief supplies to Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq.
▪ relief efforts
In areas severely affected by the earthquake, it is difficult to coordinate relief efforts.
▪ a relief operation
UN officials accused the government of obstructing relief operations in the south of the country.
▪ a relief worker
The relief workers have to bring in clean drinking water by tanker.
▪ relief work
The charity raised over five million pounds for relief work.
▪ a relief convoy/flight
A relief convoy of 10 trucks set off with food and medical supplies.