Palliation

pal·li·ate  (pl-t)

tr.v. pal·li·at·ed, pal·li·at·ing, pal·li·ates

1. To make (an offense or crime) seem less serious; extenuate.

2. To make less severe or intense; mitigate: tried unsuccessfully to palliate the widespread discontent.

3. To relieve the symptoms of a disease or disorder.

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[Middle English palliaten, from Late Latin pallire, pallit-, to cloak, palliate, from Latin pallium, cloak.]

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palli·ation n.

palli·ator n.

Synonyms: palliate, extenuate, gloss¹, gloze, whitewash
These verbs mean to cause a fault or offense to seem less grave or less reprehensible: palliate a crime; couldn't extenuate the malfeasance; glossing over an unethical transaction; glozing sins and iniquities; whitewashed official complicity in political extortion. See Also Synonyms at relieve.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	palliation - easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing the cause alleviation, easement, easing, relief - the act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance); "he asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain"
	2.	palliation - to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious mitigation, extenuation reduction, step-down, diminution, decrease - the act of decreasing or reducing something