relieve
VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (11)relieves, relieved, relieving
- provide physical relief, as from pain“This pill will relieve your headaches”Synonyms: alleviatepalliateassuageMore general better, improveMore specific comfort, soothe
- free someone temporarily from his or her obligationsSynonyms: take overMore general free, dischargeMore specific spell
- grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to“She exempted me from the exam”Synonyms: exemptfreeMore general change, alterMore specific spare, forgive, derestrict, dispense, deregulate
- lessen the intensity of or calm“The news eased my conscience”“still the fears”Synonyms: stillallayeaseMore general comfort, sootheMore specific abreact
- save from ruin, destruction, or harmSynonyms: salvagesalvesaveMore general rescue, deliver
- relieve oneself of troubling informationSynonyms: unbosomMore general confide
- provide relief for“remedy his illness”Synonyms: remedy
- free from a burden, evil, or distress
- take by stealing“The thief relieved me of $100”
- grant exemption or release to“Please excuse me from this class”Synonyms: excuselet offexempt
- 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”Synonyms: lighten
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Verb to ease from mental distress
- Spanish
- aliviar
- French
- soulager
- German
- erleichtern
- Portuguese
- aliviar
- Turkish
- rahatlatmak
- Dutch
- opluchten
- Polish
- ulżyć
- Swedish
- lätta
- Portuguese (PT)
- aliviar
- Catalan
- alleujar
Verb to relieve oneself, urinate or defecate
- Spanish
- hacer sus necesidades
- French
- faire ses besoins
- Chinese
- 解手 jiěshǒu
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 解手 jiě shǒu
- Finnish
- keventää
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: 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. obsolete Vision of Piers Plowman
2. To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to set off by contrast.
Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of supernatural height.— Sir Walter 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.— Joseph Addison
4. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or crushes; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to alleviate; 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.— John 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?— William Shakespeare
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.
Synonyms: To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support; substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy; redress; indemnify.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54