relieve, alleviate, palliate, assuage
(verb) provide physical relief, as from pain; “This pill will relieve your headaches”
remedy, relieve
(verb) provide relief for; “remedy his illness”
relieve, lighten
(verb) alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive; “relieve the pressure and the stress”; “lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents”
excuse, relieve, let off, exempt
(verb) grant exemption or release to; “Please excuse me from this class”
unbosom, relieve
(verb) relieve oneself of troubling information
still, allay, relieve, ease
(verb) lessen the intensity of or calm; “The news eased my conscience”; “still the fears”
relieve
(verb) take by stealing; “The thief relieved me of $100”
relieve
(verb) free from a burden, evil, or distress
salvage, salve, relieve, save
(verb) save from ruin, destruction, or harm
exempt, relieve, free
(verb) grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to; “She exempted me from the exam”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
relieve (third-person singular simple present relieves, present participle relieving, simple past and past participle relieved)
(transitive) To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of. [from 14th c.]
(transitive) To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort. [from 14th c.]
(transitive) To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.). [from 14th c.]
(transitive) To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty). [from 14th c.]
(obsolete) To lift up; to raise again. [15th-17th c.]
(now rare) To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified difficulty etc.). [from 15th c.]
(legal) To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to. [from 15th c.]
To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the siege on. [from 16th c.]
To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc. [from 16th c.]
(military, job) To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place. [from 16th c.]
(now rare) To make (something) stand out; to make prominent, bring into relief. [from 18th c.]
(reflexive) To go to the toilet; to defecate or urinate. [from 20th c.]
• (to alleviate pain, ease): liss
Source: Wiktionary
Re*lieve" (r-lv"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-lvd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Relieving.] Etym: [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis light. See Levity, and cf. Relevant, Relief.]
1. To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
2. To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of supernatural height. Sir W. Scott.
3. To raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into; to remove the monotony or sameness of. The poet must . . . sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection. Addison.
4. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or cruches; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to allevate; to- abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the wants of the poor.
5. To free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress, or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid, help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town. Now lend assistance and relieve the poor. Dryden.
6. To release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge of any duty. Who hath relieved you Shak.
7. To ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses, or the like; to right.
Syn.
– To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support; substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy; redress; indemnify.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
21 December 2024
(noun) a forest fire fighter who is sent to battle remote and severe forest fires (often for days at a time)
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
