re·lieve

[ri-leev] verb, re·lieved, re·liev·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to ease or alleviate (pain, distress, anxiety, need, etc.).
2.
to free from anxiety, fear, pain, etc.
3.
to free from need, poverty, etc.
4.
to bring effective aid to (a besieged town, military position, etc.).
5.
to ease (a person) of any burden, wrong, or oppression, as by legal means.
6.
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.
7.
to make less tedious, unpleasant, or monotonous; break or vary the sameness of: curtains to relieve the drabness of the room.
8.
to bring into relief or prominence; heighten the effect of.
9.
to release (one on duty) by coming as or providing a substitute or replacement.
10.
Machinery.
a.
to free (a closed space, as a tank, boiler, etc.) of more than a desirable pressure or vacuum.
b.
to reduce (the pressure or vacuum in such a space) to a desirable level.
11.
Baseball. to replace (a pitcher).
verb (used without object)
12.
Baseball. to act as a relief pitcher: He relieved in 52 games for the Pirates last season.
00:10
Relieve is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
chat, to converse
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
13.
to relieve oneself, to urinate or defecate.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English releven < Middle French relever to raise < Latin relevāre to reduce the load of, lighten, equivalent to re- re- + levāre to raise, derivative of levis light in weight

re·liev·a·ble, adjective
re·liev·ed·ly [ri-lee-vid-lee] , adverb
non·re·liev·ing, adjective
qua·si-re·lieved, adjective
un·re·liev·a·ble, adjective
un·re·lieved, adjective
un·re·liev·ed·ly, adverb
un·re·liev·ing, adjective


1. mitigate, assuage, allay, lighten, lessen, abate, diminish. See comfort. 1-4. aid, help, assist. 3. support, sustain. 4. succor.


1. intensify.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
relieve (rɪˈliːv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  to bring alleviation of (pain, distress, etc) to (someone)
2.  to bring aid or assistance to (someone in need, a disaster area, etc)
3.  to take over the duties or watch of (someone)
4.  to bring aid or a relieving force to (a besieged town, city, etc)
5.  to free (someone) from an obligation
6.  to make (something) less unpleasant, arduous, or monotonous
7.  to bring into relief or prominence, as by contrast
8.  informal (foll by of) to take from: the thief relieved him of his watch
9.  relieve oneself to urinate or defecate
 
[C14: from Old French relever, from Latin relevāre to lift up, relieve, from re- + levāre to lighten]
 
re'lievable
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

relieve
c.1300, from O.Fr. relever "to raise, relieve" (11c.), from L. relevare "to raise, alleviate," from re-, intensive prefix, + levare "to lift up, lighten," from levis "not heavy" (see lever). The notion is "to raise (someone) out of trouble." Reliever in the baseball pitcher
sense is recorded from 1967. Related: relieved.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

relieve re·lieve (rĭ-lēv')
v. re·lieved, re·liev·ing, re·lieves

  1. To cause a lessening or alleviation of something, such as pain, tension, or a symptom.

  2. To free an individual from pain, anxiety, or distress.


re·liev'a·ble adj.
re·liev'er n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
The secretary, for instance, cannot relieve himself from the responsibility of his office by resigning.
But it is possible to correct some falsities and relieve some perplexities regarding essential facts.
With mobile banking on the rise, it follows that companies will try to relieve savers of their cash through the same channels.
Extra railway capacity is also planned, to relieve the overcrowding on commuter
  lines.
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