The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
alleviated, eased, relieved
(adjective) (of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
Source: WordNet® 3.1
alleviated (comparative more alleviated, superlative most alleviated)
Made more bearable.
alleviated
simple past tense and past participle of alleviate
Source: Wiktionary
Al*le"vi*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alleviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alleviating.] Etym: [LL. alleviare, fr. L. ad + levis light. See Alegge, Levity.]
1. To lighten or lessen the force or weight of. [Obs.] Should no others join capable to alleviate the expense. Evelyn. Those large bladders . . . conduce much to the alleviating of the body [of flying birds]. Ray.
2. To lighten or lessen (physical or mental troubles); to mitigate, or make easier to be endured; as, to alleviate sorrow, pain, care, etc. ; -- opposed to aggravate. The calamity of the want of the sense of hearing is much alleviated by giving the use of letters. Bp. Horsley.
3. To extenuate; to palliate. [R.] He alleviates his fault by an excuse. Johnson.
Syn.
– To lessen; diminish; soften; mitigate; assuage; abate; relieve; nullify; allay.
– To Alleviate, Mitigate, Assuage, Allay. These words have in common the idea of relief from some painful state; and being all figurative, they differ in their application, according to the image under which this idea is presented. Alleviate supposes a load which is lightened or taken off; as, to alleviate one's cares. Mitigate supposes something fierce which is made mild; as, to mitigate one's anguish. Assuage supposes something violent which is quieted; as, to assuage one's sorrow. Allay supposes something previously excited, but now brought down; as, to allay one's suffering or one's thirst. To alleviate the distresses of life; to mitigate the fierceness of passion or the violence of grief; to assuage angry feeling; to allay wounded sensibility.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
2 April 2025
(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”
The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.