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alleviate - 5 dictionary results
al⋅le⋅vi⋅ate
[uh-lee-vee-eyt] 
viˌeɪt
–verb (used with object), -at⋅ed, -at⋅ing.
| to make easier to endure; lessen; mitigate: to alleviate sorrow; to alleviate pain. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To alleviate
| al·le·vi·ate (ə-lē'vē-āt') tr.v. al·le·vi·at·ed, al·le·vi·at·ing, al·le·vi·ates To make (pain, for example) more bearable: a drug that alleviates cold symptoms. See Synonyms at relieve. [Middle English alleviaten, from Late Latin alleviāre, alleviāt-, to lighten : Latin ad-, ad- + levis, light; see legwh- in Indo-European roots.] al·le'vi·a'tion n., al·le'vi·a'tor n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Alleviate
Al*le"vi*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Alleviated; p. pr. & vb. n. Alleviating.] [LL. alleviare, fr. L. ad + levis light. See Alegge, Levity.]1. To lighten or lessen the force or weight of. [Obs.] Should no others join capable to alleviate the expense. --Evelyn. Those large bladders . . . conduce much to the alleviating of the body [of flying birds]. --Ray. 2. To lighten or lessen (physical or mental troubles); to mitigate, or make easier to be endured; as, to alleviate sorrow, pain, care, etc.; -- opposed to aggravate. The calamity of the want of the sense of hearing is much alleviated by giving the use of letters. --Bp. Horsley. 3. To extenuate; to palliate. [R.] He alleviates his fault by an excuse. --Johnson. Syn: To lessen; diminish; soften; mitigate; assuage; abate; relieve; nullify; allay. Usage: To Alleviate, Mitigate, Assuage, Allay. These words have in common the idea of relief from some painful state; and being all figurative, they differ in their application, according to the image under which this idea is presented. Alleviate supposes a load which is lightened or taken off; as, to alleviate one's cares. Mitigate supposes something fierce which is made mild; as, to mitigate one's anguish. Assuage supposes something violent which is quieted; as, to assuage one's sorrow. Allay supposes something previously excited, but now brought down; as, to allay one's suffering or one's thirst. To alleviate the distresses of life; to mitigate the fierceness of passion or the violence of grief; to assuage angry feeling; to allay wounded sensibility.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : alleviate
Spanish:
aliviar,
German:
erleichtern,
Japanese:
緩和する
alleviate
1528, from L.L. alleviatus, pp. of alleviare "to lighten," from L. ad- "to" + levis "light" in weight (see lever).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: al·le·vi·ate
Pronunciation: &-'lE-vE-"At
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -at·ed;-at·ing
: to make (as symptoms) less severe or more bearable alleviate itching> —al·le·vi·a·tion /-"lE-vE-'A-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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