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   relieve

   /rɪˈliːv/

   verb

   • 1. cause (pain, distress, or difficulty) to become less severe or serious: "the drug was used to promote sleep and to relieve pain" Similar alleviatemitigateassuageallaysoothesoftenpalliateappeaseeasedullreducelessendiminishOpposite aggravate
   • ▪ cause (someone) to stop feeling distressed or anxious: "he was relieved by her change of tone"
   • 2. release (someone) from duty by taking their place: "another signalman relieved him at 5.30" Similar replacetake over fromtake the place ofstand in foract as stand-in forfill in forsubstitute foract as a substitute fordeputize forbe a proxy forcover forprovide cover foract as locum forhold the fort fordo something in someone's place/stead
   • ▪ bring military support for (a besieged place): "he dispatched an expedition to relieve the city"
   • 3. take (a burden) from someone: "he relieved her of her baggage" Similar free of/fromset free fromrelease fromliberate fromexempt fromexcuse fromabsolve fromlet offextricate fromdischarge fromunburden ofdisburden ofdisencumber ofdeliver fromrescue fromsave fromrare:disembarrass ofOpposite put an extra burden on
   • ▪ free someone from (a tiresome responsibility): "she relieved me of the household chores" Similar replacetake over fromtake the place ofstand in foract as stand-in forfill in forsubstitute foract as a substitute fordeputize forbe a proxy forcover forprovide cover foract as locum forhold the fort fordo something in someone's place/stead
   • ▪ used ironically to indicate that someone has been deprived of something: "he was relieved of his world title"
   • 4. make less tedious or monotonous by the introduction of variety: "the bird's body is black, relieved only by white under the tail" Similar counteractreducealleviatemitigatebrightenlightensweetenbring respite tomake something bearableinterruptpunctuatevarybreak upstopbring an end tocuredispelpreventOpposite exacerbateemphasize
   • 5. used as a formal or euphemistic expression for urination or defecation: "train your dog to relieve itself where you want it to"
   • 6. make (something) stand out: archaic "the twilight relieving in purple masses the foliage of the island"

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French relever, from Latin relevare, from re- (expressing intensive force) + levare ‘raise’ (from levis ‘light’).

   Derivatives

   • 1. relievable adjective

   Scrabble Points: 10

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • L

     1

   • I

     1

   • E

     1

   • V

     4

   • E

     1

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