relieve

tr.v., -lieved, -liev·ing, -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. 1. To free from a specified duty by providing or acting as a substitute.
   2. 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)

1. To urinate or defecate.

[Middle English releven, from Old French relever, from Latin relevāre : re-, re- + levāre, to raise.]

relievable re·liev'a·ble adj.

SYNONYMS   relieve, allay, alleviate, assuage, lighten, 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).

verb

1. To make less severe or more bearable: allay, alleviate, assuage, comfort, ease, lessen, lighten², mitigate, palliate. See increase/decrease.
2. To free from or cast out something objectionable or undesirable: clear, disburden, disembarrass, disencumber, release, rid, shake off, throw off, unburden. Slang shake. See keep/release.
3. To give support or assistance: abet, aid, assist, boost, help (out), succor. Idioms: givelenda hand, give a leg up. See help/harm/harmless.
4. To free from an obligation or duty: absolve, discharge, dispense, excuse, exempt, let off, spare. See free/unfree.
5. To free from a specific duty by acting as a substitute: spell³, take over. See substitute.

v

Definition: help; make less painful
Antonyms: burden, discourage, exacerbate, harm, hurt, injure, pain, trouble, upset, worry, worsen

v

Definition: improve
Antonyms: aggravate, exacerbate, worsen

v

Definition: remove blame, responsibility
Antonyms: accuse, blame, condemn, unburden

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v

1. to mitigate or remove pain or distress. v 2. the procedure of placing hard wax in strategic areas.

[riܒlēv]

riˈlēv v. 1. release (someone) from duty by taking their place: another signalman relieved him at 5:30.

2. bring military support for (a besieged place): he dispatched an expedition to relieve the city.

reliever n.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

To lighten a color in order to reduce its intensity.

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IN BRIEF: To free from pain, or distress. Also: To set free from duty or work by taking over the work of others for a time.

I have never known any distress that an hour's reading did not relieve. — Charles de Secondat

Common misspelling(s) of relieve

• releive

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - lette, afhjælpe, aflaste, sætte i relief

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    lette sit hjerte
• relieve oneself    forrette sin nødtørft, gå på toilettet
• relieve someone of their duties    fritage en for vedkommendes pligter, fritage en for tjeneste, suspendere
• relieve someone of their post    suspendere

Nederlands (Dutch)
aflossen, ontlasten, verlichten, afwisselen, versterkingen aanvoeren, reliëf geven aan

Français (French)
v. tr. - dissiper, remédier à, alléger, rompre (la monotonie), (Méd, Aut) décongestionner, rendre moins sévère (un vêtement), débarrasser qn de, soulager qn de, venir en aide à, secourir, relever (la garde), (Mil) délivrer, faire lever le siège de

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    décharger son c¯ur, décharger sa colère
• relieve oneself    se soulager
• relieve someone of their duties    relever qn des ses fonctions
• relieve someone of their post    relever qn de son poste

Deutsch (German)
v. - helfen, lindern, befreien, erleichtern, entlasten, abnehmen, ablösen

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    seinen Gefühlen Luft machen
• relieve oneself    sich erleichtern
• relieve someone of their duties    entbinden, entheben
• relieve someone of their post    entbinden, entheben

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ανακουφίζω, περιθάλπω, απαλλάσσω, απολύω, ξαλαφρώνω, αντικαθιστώ, ξεκουράζω, ποικίλλω, διανθίζω, βοηθώ, δίνω βοήθεια, τονίζω, προβάλλω

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    εκτονώνομαι
• relieve oneself    κάνω το νερό μου, ανακουφίζομαι, αφοδεύω ή ουρώ
• relieve someone of their duties    απαλλάσσω κάποιον από τα καθήκοντά του
• relieve someone of their post    απαλλάσσω κάποιον από τα καθήκοντά του

Italiano (Italian)
sgravare, alleviare, alleggerire, alleggerirsi, sostituire

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    sfogarsi
• relieve oneself    fare i propri bisogni
• relieve someone of their duties/post    sollevare qualcuno dalle sue responsabilitý

Português (Portuguese)
v. - acalmar, consolar, atenuar

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    dar vazão aos sentimentos
• relieve oneself    aliviar
• relieve someone of their duties/post    dispensar das obrigações

Русский (Russian)
освобождать, облегчать, сменять

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    облегчить душу
• relieve oneself    оправиться
• relieve someone of their duties/post    освободить от занимаемой должности

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - liberar, exonerar, calmar, aliviar, mitigar, descargar, relevar, sustituir

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    desahogarse
• relieve oneself    hacer sus necesidades
• relieve someone of their duties    destituir a alguien de su puesto, dejar cesante a alguien
• relieve someone of their post    destituir a alguien de su puesto, dejar cesante a alguien

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - lätta, undsätta, avlösa

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
减轻, 解除, 救济

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    发泄感情
• relieve oneself    大小便
• relieve someone of their duties    使某人从责任中解脱出来
• relieve someone of their post    解除某人职位, 革职

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 減輕, 解除, 救濟

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    發洩感情
• relieve oneself    大小便
• relieve someone of their duties    使某人從責任中解脫出來
• relieve someone of their post    解除某人職位, 革職

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 경감하다, 안도케 하다, 구제하다

idioms:

• relieve oneself    배변하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 和らげる, ほっとさせる, 交替させる, 解放する, 解雇する, から盗む, 救う, から敵を追い払う, 救援する, 軽減する

idioms:

• relieve one's feelings    鬱憤を晴らす
• relieve oneself    用を足す
• relieve someone of their duties/post    職を解く

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يريح, يفرج عن, يلطف, يخفف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הקל, הרגיע, החליף, הגיש סיוע, חילץ, שחרר, גיוון‬

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