a·mel·io·rate ( -m l y-r t )tr. & intr.v. a·me·lio·rat·ed, a·me·lio·rat·ing, a·me·lio·rates To make or become better; improve. See Synonyms at improve. [Alteration of meliorate.] a·mel io·ra·ble (-r-bl) adj.a·mel io·rative adj.a·mel io·rator n. |
ameliorate [əˈmiːljəˌreɪt]
vb
to make or become better; improve
[from meliorate, influenced by French améliorer to improve, from Old French ameillorer to make better, from meillor better, from Latin melior]
ameliorable [əˈmiːljərəbəl] adj
ameliorant n
ameliorative adj
ameliorator n
Usage: Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate is properly used to mean `improve', not `make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | ameliorate - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" alleviate, relieve, palliate, assuage - provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" revitalize, regenerate - restore strength; "This food revitalized the patient" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" enrich - make better or improve in quality; "The experience enriched her understanding"; "enriched foods" build up, develop - change the use of and make available or usable; "develop land"; "The country developed its natural resources"; "The remote areas of the country were gradually built up" turn around - improve dramatically; "The new strategy turned around sales"; "The tutor turned around my son's performance in math" help - improve; change for the better; "New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture" upgrade - to improve what was old or outdated; "I've upgraded my computer so I can run better software"; "The company upgraded their personnel" condition - put into a better state; "he conditions old cars" emend - make improvements or corrections to; "the text was emended in the second edition" enhance - make better or more attractive; "This sauce will enhance the flavor of the meat" fix, furbish up, mend, repair, bushel, doctor, touch on, restore - restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please" reform - make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system" reform - improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country" build - improve the cleansing action of; "build detergents" fine-tune, refine, polish, down - improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" distill, make pure, purify, sublimate - remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; "purify the water" fructify - make productive or fruitful; "The earth that he fructified" advance - develop further; "We are advancing technology every day" upgrade - give better travel conditions to; "The airline upgraded me when I arrived late and Coach Class was full" educate - give an education to; "We must educate our youngsters better" |
| 2. | ameliorate - get better; "The weather improved toward evening" heal - get healthy again; "The wound is healing slowly" change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" see the light, straighten out, reform - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light" surge - see one's performance improve; "He levelled the score and then surged ahead" turn around, pick up - improve significantly; go from bad to good; "Her performance in school picked up" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" fructify - become productive or fruitful; "The seeds fructified" upgrade - get better travel conditions; "I upgraded to First Class when Coach Class was overbooked" |
ameliorate
verb improve, better, benefit, reform, advance, promote, amend, elevate, raise, mend, mitigate, make better, assuage, meliorate Nothing can be done to ameliorate the situation.
Usage: Ameliorate is sometimes confused with alleviate but the words are not synonymous. Ameliorate comes ultimately from the Latin for `better', and means `to improve'. The nouns it typically goes with are condition, and situation. Alleviate means `to lessen', and frequently occurs with poverty, suffering, pain, symptoms, and effects. Occasionally ameliorate is used with effects and poverty where the other verb may be more appropriate.
Translations
ameliorate [əˈmiːljəreɪt] vt (formal) [+ conditions, situation] → améliorer; [+ ill effects] → remédier Ã
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