| / English Dictionary |
RELIEVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they relieve ... he / she / it relieves
Past simple: relieved
Past participle: relieved
-ing form: relieving
Sense 1
Meaning:
Provide physical relief, as from pain
Example:
This pill will relieve your headaches
Synonyms:
alleviate; assuage; palliate; relieve
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
ameliorate; amend; better; improve; meliorate (to make better)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relieve"):
soothe (cause to feel better)
comfort; ease (lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Provide relief for
Example:
remedy his illness
Synonyms:
relieve; remedy
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
care for; treat (provide treatment for)
Domain category:
medicine; practice of 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)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive
Example:
lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents
Synonyms:
lighten; relieve
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
mitigate (make less severe or harsh)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 4
Meaning:
Grant exemption or release to
Example:
Please excuse me from this class
Synonyms:
excuse; exempt; let off; relieve
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
absolve; free (let off the hook)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relieve"):
frank (exempt by means of an official pass or letter, as from customs or other checks)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Sentence example:
Sam cannot relieve Sue
Sense 5
Meaning:
Relieve oneself of troubling information
Synonyms:
relieve; unbosom
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
confide (reveal in private; tell confidentially)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
They relieve themselves
Sense 6
Meaning:
Lessen the intensity of or calm
Example:
still the fears
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
comfort; console; solace; soothe (give moral or emotional strength to)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relieve"):
abreact (discharge bad feelings or tension through verbalization)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sentence example:
The good news will relieve her
Derivation:
reliever (a person who reduces the intensity (e.g., of fears) and calms and pacifies)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Take by stealing
Example:
The thief relieved me of $100
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
take (take by force)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody of something
Sentence example:
They relieve him of all his money
Sense 8
Meaning:
Free from a burden, evil, or distress
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
disembarrass; free; rid (relieve from)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody of something
Sense 9
Meaning:
Free someone temporarily from his or her obligations
Synonyms:
relieve; take over
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
discharge; free (free from obligations or duties)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relieve"):
spell (relieve (someone) from work by taking a turn)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
Sam cannot relieve Sue
Derivation:
reliever (a pitcher who does not start the game)
reliever (someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult))
Sense 10
Meaning:
Save from ruin, destruction, or harm
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "relieve" is one way to...):
deliver; rescue (free from harm or evil)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Sense 11
Meaning:
Grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to
Example:
She exempted me from the exam
Synonyms:
exempt; free; relieve
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "relieve"):
derestrict (make free from restrictions)
deregulate (lift the regulations on)
dispense (grant a dispensation; grant an exemption)
forgive (absolve from payment)
spare (save or relieve from an experience or action)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Context examples:
He became greatly frightened at this and made many motions to Dorothy to relieve him, but she could not understand.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
The Professor and I looked at each other for an instant, and somehow we both seemed relieved.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
The completion of the preparations for my breakfast, by relieving the fire, gave her such extreme joy that she laughed aloud—and a very unmelodious laugh she had, I must say.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
"I should like much to send all the rest after him," muttered the Professor, coming back with a relieved air.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Nonnarcotic agents that relieve pain and reduce fever.
(Analgesic and Antipyretic, NCI Thesaurus)
A doctor who specializes in giving drugs or other agents to prevent or relieve pain during surgery or other procedures being done in the hospital.
(Anesthesiologist, NCI Dictionary)
As a result, this may relieve symptoms associated with hormonally dependent disease states such as hormone-dependent prostate cancer.
(Ozarelix, NCI Thesaurus)
I could offer no explanation of them, but their truth in part relieved the burden of my mysterious woe.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
When inhibiting COX-2, this agent may be effective in relieving pain and inflammation; when inhibiting COX-1, it may produce unacceptable gastrointestinal side effects.
(Oxaprozin, NCI Thesaurus)
Some OTC medicines relieve aches, pains and itches.
(Over-the-Counter Medicines, Food and Drug Administration)
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