relieve
verb
[ rɪˈliːv ]
• cause (pain, distress, or difficulty) to become less severe or serious.
• "the drug was used to promote sleep and to relieve pain"
Similar:
alleviate,
mitigate,
assuage,
allay,
soothe,
soften,
palliate,
appease,
ease,
dull,
reduce,
lessen,
diminish,
• release (someone) from duty by taking their place.
• "another signalman relieved him at 5.30"
Similar:
replace,
take over from,
take the place of,
stand in for,
act as stand-in for,
fill in for,
substitute for,
act as a substitute for,
deputize for,
be a proxy for,
cover for,
provide cover for,
act as locum for,
hold the fort for,
• take (a burden) from someone.
• "he relieved her of her baggage"
Similar:
free of/from,
set free from,
release from,
liberate from,
exempt from,
excuse from,
absolve from,
let off,
extricate from,
discharge from,
unburden of,
disburden of,
disencumber of,
deliver from,
rescue from,
save from,
disembarrass of,
Opposite:
put an extra burden on,
• make less tedious or monotonous by the introduction of variety.
• "the bird's body is black, relieved only by white under the tail"
Similar:
counteract,
reduce,
alleviate,
mitigate,
brighten,
lighten,
sweeten,
bring respite to,
make something bearable,
interrupt,
punctuate,
vary,
break up,
stop,
bring an end to,
cure,
dispel,
prevent,
• used as a formal or euphemistic expression for urination or defecation.
• "train your dog to relieve itself where you want it to"
Similar:
go to the toilet,
go to the lavatory,
excrete,
urinate,
pass water,
wet one's bed/pants,
wet oneself,
cock/lift its leg,
defecate,
pass/discharge/excrete faeces,
have a bowel movement,
have a BM,
evacuate one's bowels,
open one's bowels,
void excrement,
go,
do it,
have/take a leak,
shake hands with an old friend,
answer the call of nature,
pee,
pee oneself,
pee one's pants,
piddle,
have a piddle,
widdle,
have a widdle,
tinkle,
have a tinkle,
do number two,
do a pooh,
do a whoopsie,
go to the loo,
wee,
have a wee,
wee-wee,
have a Jimmy (Riddle),
have a slash,
have a wazz,
spend a penny,
whiz,
take a whiz,
micturate,
piss,
have a piss,
crap,
have a crap,
shit,
have a shit,
dump,
have a dump,
• make (something) stand out.
• "the twilight relieving in purple masses the foliage of the island"
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French relever, from Latin relevare, from re- (expressing intensive force) + levare ‘raise’ (from levis ‘light’).
