The most popular online dictionary and thesaurus for learners of English
relieve
verb (HELP) /rɪˈliːv/Definition
› [T] to provide relief for a bad situation or for people in need: emergency food aid to help relieve the famineMaking things betterBecoming better › [T] to take the place of someone and continue doing their job or duties: I'm on duty until 2 p.m. and then Peter is coming to relieve me.Replacing and exchanging › [T] formal to free a place that has been surrounded by an enemy army by military force: An armoured battalion was sent to relieve the besieged town.Attacking and invading
(Definition of relieve verb (HELP) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
Focus on the pronunciation of relieve
Browse related topics
You are looking at an entry to do with Making things better, but you might be interested in these topics from the Doing and achieving topic area:
- Abstaining and refraining
- Acting and acts
- Avoiding action
- Becoming better
- Cancelling and interrupting
- Competing and contending (non-sporting)
- Coping and not coping
- Delaying and wasting time
- Describing the leading position
- Efficient and effective
- Expressions telling people to hurry up
- Failing and doing badly
- Failures
- Getting involved for one's own benefit or against others' will
- Hesitating
- Higher and lower points of achievement
- Hurrying and doing things quickly
- Making progress and advancing
- Performing a function
- Potential
- Reacting and responding
- Repeating an action
- Succeeding, achieving and fulfilling
- Success and achievements
- Successful (things or people)
- Surpassing in quality or number
- Taking part and getting involved
- Trying and making an effort
- Unsuccessful (people and things)
- Waiting
- Ways of achieving things
Browse the Thesaurus
More Results for “relieve”
SMART Thesaurus: Making things better
Synonyms and related words:
- a shot in the arm idiom
- add salt to sth idiom
- allay verb
- alleviate verb
- ameliorate verb
- deepen verb (COMPLICATED)
- humanize verb
- improve on/upon sth phrasal verb
- improve verb
- invigorate verb
- iterative adjective
- rationalize verb (CHANGE)
- rectify verb (CORRECT)
- rehabilitate verb
- revitalize verb
- revivify verb
- revolutionize verb
- salvage verb
- save the day idiom
- work (sth) out phrasal verb
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Word of the Day
Blog
Read our blog about how the English language behaves.
New Words
Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.
