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alleviate definition

al·le·vi·ate (ə lē′vē āt′)

transitive verb alleviated -·at′ed, alleviating -·at′·ing

  1. to make less hard to bear; lighten or relieve (pain, suffering, etc.)
  2. to reduce or decrease to alleviate poverty

Etymology: ME alleviaten < LL alleviatus, pp. of alleviare, for L allevare < ad-, to + levis, light

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

alleviate Synonyms

alleviate

v.

lighten, mitigate, ease; see relieve 2. See syn. study atrelieve.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

alleviate Usage Examples

Object

  • suffering: These grants went far to alleviate the suffering which without them must have, followed the event.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

  • such: Oestrogens are used in HRT to alleviate menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness.

Adjective complement

  • most: Tips on posture and exercise also help to alleviate most of the discomforts experienced during pregnancy.

Modifying Another Word

  • partially: Higher economic growth within the EU could help to partially alleviate the pensions problem.

Used with why or when

  • what: Could the planners look at something to alleviate what is only a peak period problem?

Present participle complement

  • suffer: He added last week: " If we can alleviate suffering by any means, that is a good thing.
alleviate usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"alleviate." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/alleviate>

APA Style

alleviate. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/alleviate

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