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ameliorative

 [uh-meel-yuh-reyt, uh-mee-lee-uh-]   Origin

a·mel·io·rate

   [uh-meel-yuh-reyt, uh-mee-lee-uh-]
verb (used with object), verb (used without object), -rat·ed, -rat·ing.
to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve; meliorate.
Origin:
1760–70; a-5 + meliorate

Related forms
a·mel·io·ra·ble, adjective
a·mel·io·ra·ble·ness, noun
a·mel·io·rant, noun
a·mel·io·ra·tive, a·mel·io·ra·to·ry  [uh-meel-yer-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, uh-mee-lee-uh-] , adjective
a·mel·io·ra·tor, noun
EXPAND
un·a·mel·io·ra·ble, adjective
un·a·mel·io·rat·ed, adjective
un·a·mel·io·ra·tive, adjective
COLLAPSE

Can be confused: ameliorate, obviate, vitiate.

Synonyms
amend, better. See improve.

Antonyms
worsen.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Ameliorative is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
ameliorate (əˈmiːljəˌreɪt)
 
—vb
to make or become better; improve
 
[C18: from meliorate, influenced by French améliorer to improve, from Old French ameillorer to make better, from meillor better, from Latin melior]
 
usage  Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate is properly used to mean `improve', not `make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it
 
ameliorable
 
—adj
 
a'meliorant
 
—n
 
a'meliorative
 
—adj
 
a'meliorator
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

ameliorate
1767 (implied in ameliorating); see amelioration. The simpler form meliorate was used in M.E. Ameliorative is attested from 1809.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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