rə̇ˈlēv, rēˈ- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English releven, from Middle French relever to lift up, raise, relieve, from Latin relevare, from re- + levare to raise — more at lever
transitive verb
1. : to free from a burden, evil, pain, or distress : give ease, comfort, or consolation to
knowing the truth will relieve anxious parents
: give aid, help, or succor to : rescue , deliver
relieve a besieged city
a society for relieving the poor
2.
a. : to bring about the removal or alleviation of : make less burdensome or afflicting : mitigate , lessen , alleviate
strenuous efforts to relieve the food shortage
frequently smokes to relieve nervous tension
no words can relieve her sorrow
b. : to remove something from the possession of : rob , deprive
crooks … eager to relieve the Texas cowboys of their pay — E.V.Buckholder
3.
a. : to release from a post, station, or duty
asked to be relieved of command of the army
he was relieved of further responsibility for the program
b. : to take the place of : take over from
sent to relieve the gate sentry
: succeed
tulips bloom … to be relieved by roses when their time is up — E.O.Hauser
relieved the operator for lunch and a smoke
4. : to set free from an obligation, condition, or restriction
5. : to acquire or take (a feudal estate) by paying or rendering a relief
6. : to ease of an imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression by judicial or legislative interposition : right
a zoning law cannot constitutionally relieve land … from lawful restrictions affecting its use, imposed by convenants — American Jurisprudence
7. : to remove or lessen the monotony of by contrast or variety
brown hills relieved by patches of green
8.
a. : to give prominence or conspicuousness to : set off by contrast : give sharp outline to
her tall figure relieved against the blue sky — Sir Walter Scott
b. : to raise (as figures, letters) in relief
9. : to supply with food, munitions, stores
relieve a lighthouse by ship
relieve an arctic weather station
10.
a. : to furnish (as a cutting tool) with a relief angle
b. : to free from tightness in relative movement
c. : to cut away a small amount of material from a part of (a machine) to obtain clearance
11. : to empty the bladder or bowels of (oneself)
children are likely to relieve themselves on any street — Time
intransitive verb
1. : to bring or give relief
2. : to stand out in relief
3. : to clear one from a legal obligation, condition, or restriction
a relieving clause
Synonyms:
alleviate , lighten , assuage , mitigate , allay : relieve indicates a lifting, perhaps temporary, of a burden, pain, or anxiety, so that it is no longer quite oppressive
particularly zealous in taking steps to control the fire and relieve the suffering it entailed — Donald Milner
a sex offender, deeply guilty over his past acts and relieved by analysis of the neurotic demands that had prompted them — Walter Goodman
alleviate indicates a temporary lightening of pain, distress, or difficulty, and may contrast with cure or eliminate
no dentists to care for them; not even any oil of cloves to alleviate the ache — C.C.Furnas
activation of the Parking Authority in order to help alleviate New York's chronic traffic problem — Current Biography
lighten may suggest a cheering, buoying up, or refreshing abatement of depression or oppression
forever grumblingly attempting to lighten their sufferings — Kenneth Roberts
his experience in copyreading and criticizing other people's efforts at expression ought to lighten the task of the editor to whom he eventually submits something — R.L.Greene
assuage suggests a moderating of pain, vexation, or sorrow by soothing, softening, or mollifying
the fugitive breezes, the life-giving zephyrs that assuage the torment of the summer heat — Stuart Cloete
grief that Professor Abbott did not live to enjoy the fame he had earned is assuaged by the knowledge that he survived to complete his great work — Godfrey Davies
mitigate also suggests moderating, by any means, or countering the force or intensity of something painful
mitigate the barbarity of criminal law — W.R.Inge
group friction and conflict are generally mitigated when people realize their common interests — M.R.Cohen
the torment of his thirst mitigated a trifle by a drenching in the brine — C.G.D.Roberts
allay applies to any effective calming, soothing, quieting, or pacifying
the approach of winter allayed the fear of Indian raids — G.R.Stewart
the president, in a TV chat intended to allay the country's fears — W.L.Miller
something must be done to allay growing public discontent and to still the disagreements — New Statesman & Nation