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relieve
[ ri-leev ]
verb (used with object)
- to ease or alleviate (pain, distress, anxiety, need, etc.).
Synonyms: , , , , , ,
Antonyms:
- to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.
- to free from need, poverty, etc.
Synonyms: ,
- to bring effective aid to (a besieged town, military position, etc.).
Synonyms: , , ,
- to ease (a person) of any burden, wrong, or oppression, as by legal means.
- to reduce (a pressure, load, weight, etc., on a device or object under stress):
to relieve the steam pressure; to relieve the stress on the supporting walls.
- to make less tedious, unpleasant, or monotonous; break or vary the sameness of:
curtains to relieve the drabness of the room.
- to bring into relief or prominence; heighten the effect of.
- to release (one on duty) by coming as or providing a substitute or replacement.
- Machinery.
- to free (a closed space, as a tank, boiler, etc.) of more than a desirable pressure or vacuum.
- to reduce (the pressure or vacuum in such a space) to a desirable level.
- Baseball. to replace (a pitcher).
verb (used without object)
- Baseball. to act as a relief pitcher:
He relieved in 52 games for the Pirates last season.
relieve
/ ɪˈː /
verb
- to bring alleviation of (pain, distress, etc) to (someone)
- to bring aid or assistance to (someone in need, a disaster area, etc)
- to take over the duties or watch of (someone)
- to bring aid or a relieving force to (a besieged town, city, etc)
- to free (someone) from an obligation
- to make (something) less unpleasant, arduous, or monotonous
- to bring into relief or prominence, as by contrast
- informal.foll by of to take from
the thief relieved him of his watch
- relieve oneselfto urinate or defecate
Derived Forms
- ˈ𱹲, adjective
Other Word Forms
- ·a· adjective
- ··· [ri-, lee, -vid-lee], adverb
- ԴDzr·iԲ adjective
- ܲȴ-·𱹱 adjective
- un·a· adjective
- ܲr·𱹱 adjective
- ܲr·Ļ· adverb
- ܲr·iԲ adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of relieve1
Idioms and Phrases
- to relieve oneself, to urinate or defecate.
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Pullman, 78, said he was "relieved" to have "come out of the end alive and able to see it being made into a book and published".
Male health workers should be allowed to perform breast screening examinations to help relieve staff shortages, say experts.
Harry is pleased Bird is dead, relieved he will never get a phone call saying his attempted murderer and the killer of so many others could be released from prison.
At the time, a representative for Cyrus said the singer was “relieved to put this nightmare behind him.”
"The case has a long way to go. But for now, we are relieved that the court has not allowed the Trump administration to hurry them away in secret."
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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