Definitions for relieve
rɪˈlivre·lieve

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. relieve, alleviate, palliate, assuageverb

   provide physical relief, as from pain

   "This pill will relieve your headaches"

2. take over, relieveverb

   free someone temporarily from his or her obligations

3. exempt, relieve, freeverb

   grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to

   "She exempted me from the exam"

4. still, allay, relieve, easeverb

   lessen the intensity of or calm

   "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears"

5. salvage, salve, relieve, saveverb

   save from ruin, destruction, or harm

6. unbosom, relieveverb

   relieve oneself of troubling information

7. remedy, relieveverb

   provide relief for

   "remedy his illness"

8. relieveverb

   free from a burden, evil, or distress

9. relieveverb

   take by stealing

   "The thief relieved me of $100"

10. excuse, relieve, let off, exemptverb

    grant exemption or release to

    "Please excuse me from this class"

11. relieve, lightenverb

    alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive

    "relieve the pressure and the stress"; "lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. relieveverb

   To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of.

2. relieveverb

   To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort.

3. relieveverb

   To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.).

4. relieveverb

   To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty).

5. relieveverb

   To lift up; to raise again.

6. relieveverb

   To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified difficulty etc.).

7. relieveverb

   To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to.

   This shall not relieve either Party of any obligations.

8. relieveverb

   To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the seige on.

9. relieveverb

   To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc.

10. relieveverb

    To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place.

11. relieveverb

    To make (something) stand out; to make prominent, bring into relief.

12. relieveverb

    To go to the toilet; to defecate or urinate.

13. Etymology: From relever, specifically from the conjugated forms such as relieve, and its source, relevo, combined form of re- + levo. Compare levant, levity, etc.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. To RELIEVE

   Etymology: relevo, Lat. relever, Fr.

   1. To recommend by the interposition of something dissimilar.

   As the great lamp of day,
   Through diff’rent regions, does his course pursue,
   And leaves one world but to revive a new;
   While, by a pleasing change, the queen of night
   Relieves his lustre with a milder light. George Stepney.

   Since the inculcating precept upon precept will prove tiresome, the poet must not encumber his poem with too much business; but sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection. Joseph Addison, Essay on the Georgicks.

   2. To support; to assist.

   Parallels, or like relations, alternately relieve each other; when neither will pass asunder, yet are they plausible together. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Errours.

   3. To ease pain or sorrow.4. To succour by assistance.

   From thy growing store,
   Now lend assistance, and relieve the poor;
   A pittance of thy land will set him free. Dryden.

   5. To set a sentinel at rest, by placing another on his post.

   Honest soldier, who hath relieved you?
   —— Bernado has my place, give you good night. William Shakespeare.

   Relieve the centries that have watch’d all night. Dryden.

   6. To right by law.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Relieveverb

   to lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise

2. Relieveverb

   to cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to set off by contrast

3. Relieveverb

   to raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into; to remove the monotony or sameness of

4. Relieveverb

   to raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or crushes; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to alleviate; to abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the wants of the poor

5. Relieveverb

   to free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress, or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid, help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town

6. Relieveverb

   to release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge of any duty

7. Relieveverb

   to ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses, or the like; to right

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Relieve

   rē-lēv′, v.t. to remove from that which weighs down or depresses: to lessen: to ease: to help: to release: to support: to mitigate: to raise the siege of: (art) to set off by contrast: (law) to redress.—adj. Reliev′able.—n. Reliev′er, one who, or that which, relieves: (slang) a garment kept for being lent out.—adj. Reliev′ing, serving to relieve: (naut.) a temporary tackle attached to the tiller of a vessel in a storm.—Relieving arch, an arch in a wall to relieve the part below it from a superincumbent weight; Relieving officer, a salaried official who superintends the relief of the poor. [O. Fr. relever, to raise again—L. relevāre—re-, again, levāre, to raise—levis, light.]

Matched Categories

1. • Comfort
   • Confide
   • Free
   • Improve
   • Medicine
   • Mitigate
   • Rescue
   • Take
   • Treat

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'relieve' in Verbs Frequency: #873

How to pronounce relieve?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say relieve in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of relieve in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of relieve in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of relieve in a Sentence

1. Horace Mann:

   To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is Godlike.

2. Michel Moore:

   I am profoundly sorry for the loss of this young girl’s life and I know there are no words that can relieve the unimaginable pain for the family, my commitment is to conduct a thorough, complete and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led up to this tragedy and provide the family and public with as much information as possible.

3. Sebastien Gendry:

   Laughter does not mean happiness. It is a way to relieve tension, it is a simple and impactful way to improve immune function by increasing cardiovascular activity and improving lymphatic function with deep breathing and increased oxygen.

4. Erika Katz:

   The tea tree oil is going to calm down the scalp and relieve some of that painful itching and burning. It's a wonderful way to just get rid of an itchy, flaky scalp.

5. Robert Mardini:

   This infusion of medical expertise and material will expedite the long road to recovery and relieve a stressed and overburdened health care system.

Popularity rank by frequency of use