/ ˈpæliətɪv; NAmE / noun
1.
( medical ) a medicine or medical treatment that reduces pain without curing its cause
2.
( formal , usually disapproving ) an action, a decision, etc. that is designed to make a difficult situation seem better without actually solving the cause of the problems
► pal·lia·tive adjective [ usually before noun ]:
palliative treatment
short-term palliative measures
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (as an adjective): from French palliatif , -ive or medieval Latin palliativus , from the verb palliare to cloak, from pallium cloak.