relieve

re·lieve  (r-lv)

tr.v. re·lieved, re·liev·ing, re·lieves

1. To cause a lessening or alleviation of: relieved all his symptoms; relieved the tension.

2. To free from pain, anxiety, or distress.

3. To furnish assistance or aid to.

4. To rescue from siege.

5. To release (a person) from an obligation, restriction, or burden, as by law or legislation.

6.

a. To free from a specified duty by providing or acting as a substitute.

b. Baseball To take over for (a relief pitcher).

7. To make less tedious, monotonous, or unpleasant: Only one small candle relieved the gloom.

8. To make prominent or effective by contrast; set off.

9. Informal To rob or deprive: Pickpockets relieved him of his money.

Idiom:

relieve (oneself)

To urinate or defecate.

---

[Middle English releven, from Old French relever, from Latin relevre : re-, re- + levre, to raise; see leg^wh- in Indo-European roots.]

---

re·lieva·ble adj.

Synonyms: relieve, allay, alleviate, assuage, lighten², mitigate, palliate
These verbs mean to make something less severe or more bearable. To relieve is to make more endurable something causing discomfort or distress: "that misery which he strives in vain to relieve" Henry David Thoreau.
Allay suggests at least temporary relief from what is burdensome or painful: "This music crept by me upon the waters,/Allaying both their fury and my passion/With its sweet air" Shakespeare.
Alleviate connotes temporary lessening of distress without removal of its cause: "No arguments shall be wanting on my part that can alleviate so severe a misfortune" Jane Austen.
To assuage is to soothe or make milder: assuaged his guilt by confessing to the crime.
Lighten signifies to make less heavy or oppressive: legislation that would lighten the taxpayer's burden.
Mitigate and palliate connote moderating the force or intensity of something that causes suffering: "I ... prayed to the Lord to mitigate a calamity" John Galt. "Men turn to him in the hour of distress, as of all statesmen the most fitted to palliate it" William E.H. Lecky.

---

relieve

Verb

[-lieving, -lieved]

1. to lessen (pain, distress, boredom, etc.)

2. to bring assistance to (someone in need): a plan to relieve those facing hunger

3. to free (someone) from an obligation: a further attempt to relieve the taxpayers of their burdens

4. to take over the duties of (someone): the night nurse came in to relieve her

5. to free (a besieged town or fort)

6. relieve oneself to urinate or defecate

7. to set off by contrast: painted walls are marginally relieved by some abstract prints

8. Informal to take from: the prince had relieved him of his duties [Latin re- again + levare to lighten]

relieved adj

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	relieve - provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" alleviate, palliate, assuage soothe - cause to feel better; "the medicine soothes the pain of the inflammation" comfort, ease - lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate; "ease the pain in your legs" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"
	2.	relieve - free someone temporarily from his or her obligations take over spell - relieve (someone) from work by taking a turn; "She spelled her husband at the wheel" discharge, free - free from obligations or duties
	3.	relieve - grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to; "She exempted me from the exam" exempt, free derestrict - make free from restrictions deregulate - lift the regulations on dispense - grant a dispensation; grant an exemption; "I was dispensed from this terrible task" forgive - absolve from payment; "I forgive you your debt" spare - save or relieve from an experience or action; "I'll spare you from having to apologize formally"
	4.	relieve - lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears" allay, still, ease comfort, console, solace, soothe - give moral or emotional strength to abreact - discharge bad feelings or tension through verbalization
	5.	relieve - save from ruin, destruction, or harm salvage, salve, save rescue, deliver - free from harm or evil
	6.	relieve - relieve oneself of troubling information unbosom confide - reveal in private; tell confidentially
	7.	relieve - provide relief for; "remedy his illness" remedy practice of medicine, medicine - the learned profession that is mastered by graduate training in a medical school and that is devoted to preventing or alleviating or curing diseases and injuries; "he studied medicine at Harvard" care for, treat - provide treatment for; "The doctor treated my broken leg"; "The nurses cared for the bomb victims"; "The patient must be treated right away or she will die"; "Treat the infection with antibiotics"
	8.	relieve - free from a burden, evil, or distress disembarrass, rid, free - relieve from; "Rid the house of pests"
	9.	relieve - take by stealing; "The thief relieved me of $100" take - take by force; "Hitler took the Baltic Republics"; "The army took the fort on the hill"
	10.	relieve - grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class" let off, excuse, exempt frank - exempt by means of an official pass or letter, as from customs or other checks absolve, justify, free - let off the hook; "I absolve you from this responsibility"
	11.	relieve - 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" lighten mitigate - make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances"

---

relieve

verb 1. ease, soothe, alleviate, allay, relax, comfort, calm, cure, dull, diminish, soften, console, appease, solace, mitigate, abate, assuage, mollify, salve, palliate << OPPOSITE intensify

verb 2. free, release, deliver, discharge, exempt, unburden, disembarrass, disencumber

verb 3. take over from, substitute for, stand in for, take the place of, give (someone) a break or rest

verb 4. help, support, aid, sustain, assist, succour, bring aid to

Translations

relieve [rɪˈliːv] vt [+ pain, patient] → aliviar (= bring help to); ayudar, socorrer [+ burden]; aligerar (= take over from) (gen) → sustituir a: [+ guard]; relevar;

to relieve sb of sth → quitar algo a algn;

to relieve sb of his command (MIL) → relevar a algn de su mando;

to relieve o.s. → hacer sus necesidades;

I am relieved to hear you are better → me alivia saber que estás or te encuentras mejor

relieve [rɪˈliːv] vt [+ pain, patient] → soulager [+ fear, worry]; dissiper (= bring help); secourir (= take over from) (gen) → relayer: [+ guard]; relever;

to relieve sb of sth → débarrasser qn de qch;

to relieve sb of his command (Mil) → relever qn de ses fonctions;

to relieve o.s. (euphemism) → se soulager, faire ses besoins

relieve [rɪˈliːv] vt (pain) → lindern;

(fear, worry) → mildern;

(take over from) → ablösen;

to relieve sb of sth (load) → jdm etw abnehmen (duties, post) → jdn einer Sache gen entheben;

to relieve o.s. (euphemism) → sich erleichtern

relieve [rɪˈliːv] vt [+ pain, patient] → sollevare (= bring help); soccorrere (= take over from) (gen) → sostituire: [+ guard]; rilevare;

to relieve sb of sth (load) → alleggerire qn di qc;

to relieve sb of his command (MIL) → esonerare qn dal comando;

to relieve o.s. (euphemism) → fare i propri bisogni