Alleviate Definition

ə-lēvē-āt
alleviated, alleviates, alleviating
verb
alleviated, alleviates, alleviating
To make (pain, for example) less intense or more bearable.
A drug that alleviates cold symptoms.
American Heritage
To make less hard to bear; lighten or relieve (pain, suffering, etc.)
Webster's New World
To lessen or reduce.
Alleviate unemployment.
American Heritage
To reduce or decrease.
To alleviate poverty.
Webster's New World

To make less severe, as a pain or difficulty.

Alcohol is often a cheap tool to alleviate the stress of a hard day.
Wiktionary

Origin of Alleviate

  • Middle English alleviaten from Late Latin alleviāre alleviāt- to lighten Latin ad- ad- levis light legwh- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Borrowing from Late Latin alleviatus, past participle of alleviare (“to lighten”) (ad- (“towards”) + levis (“light”)).

    From Wiktionary

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