relieve
verb/ɹɪˈliːv/
Etymology From Late Middle English releven, from Old French relever, specifically from the conjugated forms such as (jeo) relieve (“I lift up”), and its source, Latin relevo (“to lift up, lighten, relieve, alleviate”), combined form of re- (“back”) + levo (“to lift”). Doublet of relevate. Compare levant, levity, etc.
13 senses
- 1To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental…
- 2To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give…
- 3To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.).
- 4To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need…
- 5To lift up; to raise again.
- 6To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified…
- 7To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to…
- 8To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the…
- 9To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted…
- 10To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking…
- 11To make (something) stand out; to make prominent, bring…
- 12To urinate or defecate.
- 13To ease one's own desire to orgasm, often through…
To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of.
- I was greatly relieved by the jury's verdict.
- Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort.
To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.).
To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty).
Obsolete To lift up; to raise again.
Archaic To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified difficulty etc.).
Law To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to.
- This shall not relieve either Party of any obligations.
To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the siege on.
- In 1574, the duke of Alva laid siege to Leiden to gain control of Holland's most beautiful and prosperous city. To relieve the siege, William of Orange and his followers opened the city's protective dikes to flush out—literally—the surrounding Spanish forces.1994, John H. Makin, Norman J. Ornstein, Debt and Taxes: How America Got into Its Budget Mess and What We Can Do about It, New York, NY: Times Books, →ISBN, page 52:
To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc.
- Carrados was carrying a small leather case which he allowed Loudham to relieve him of, together with his hat and gloves.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
- They had thought it obsolete, but, were relieved of this misapprehension by Yule’s friend Major Trotter.2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look at ‘Hobson-Jobson’”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 27, number 1, page 57:
To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place.
Archaic To make (something) stand out; to make prominent, bring into relief.
- The henna should be deeply dyed to make / The skin relieved appear more fairly fair […]1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, III.76:
- The night whose sable breast relieves the stark / White stars is no less lovely being dark1927, Countee Cullen, From the Dark Tower:
Euphemistic To urinate or defecate.
- 1989, Snyder v. Harmon, 562 A.2d 307 (Pa. 1989) (Zappala, J., writing for the majority), Pennsylvania Supreme Court As they traveled along L.R. 33060, one of the passengers mentioned he had to relieve himself, so Barrett stopped the car along the berm of the road, which, unbeknown to the travelers, was directly adjacent to a strip mine.
- For example, the times and locales for defecation and urination have come under tighter regulation in the modern West to meet an increasing demand – explicitly articulated in workplace rules and regulations – that people relieve themselves not whenever or wherever they feel like it but at an appropriate time and place (Inglis & Holmes, 2000).2017, Hannah Frith, “Ejaculatory Timing and Masculine Identities: The Politics of Ab/normalising Sexual Performance”, in Jonathon Louth, Martin Potter, editors, Edges of Identity: The Production of Neoliberal Subjectivities, Chester, England: University of Chester Press, →ISBN, page 161:
Euphemistic To ease one's own desire to orgasm, often through masturbation to orgasm.
- Nevertheless, to relieve oneself takes the edge off the desire and doesn't take advantage of others.2014, Abbie Smith, Celibate Sex: Musings on Being Loved, Single, Twisted, and Holy:
- Derived terms
- pain-relieving, relievable, relievement, relieve nature, relieving arch, relieving officer, relieving tackle