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relieve

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From LateMiddle Englishreleven, fromOld Frenchrelever, specifically from the conjugated forms such as(jeo) relieve(I lift up), and its source,Latinrelevo(to lift up, lighten, relieve, alleviate), combined form ofre-(back) +levo(to lift).Doublet ofrelevate. Comparelevant,levity, etc.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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relieve (third-person singular simple presentrelieves,present participlerelieving,simple past and past participlerelieved)

  1. (transitive) Toease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mentaldistress; to stop (someone) feelinganxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of.[from 14th c.]
    I was greatlyrelieved by the jury's verdict.
  2. (transitive) Toease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or giverelief from physical pain or discomfort.[from 14th c.]
    Synonym:liss
  3. (transitive) Toalleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.).[from 14th c.]
  4. (transitive) To providecomfort orassistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty).[from 14th c.]
  5. (obsolete) Tolift up; toraise again.[15th–17th c.]
  6. (now rare) Toraise (someone) out of danger orfrom (a specified difficulty etc.).[from 15th c.]
  7. (law) To free (someone) fromdebt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to.[from 15th c.]
    This shall notrelieve either Party of any obligations.
  8. (transitive) To bringmilitary help to (a besieged town); to lift the siege on.[from 16th c.]
    • 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, page52:
      In 1574, the duke of Alva laid siege to Leiden to gain control of Holland's most beautiful and prosperous city. Torelieve the siege, William of Orange and his followers opened the city's protective dikes to flush out—literally—the surrounding Spanish forces.
  9. Torelease (someone) from or of adifficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc.[from 16th c.]
    • 2014, James Lambert, “A Much Tortured Expression: A New Look at ‘Hobson-Jobson’”, inInternational Journal of Lexicography, volume27, number 1, page57:
      They had thought it obsolete, but, wererelieved of this misapprehension by Yule’s friend Major Trotter.
  10. (originally military) To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place.[from 16th c.]
  11. (now rare) To make (something)stand out; to makeprominent, bring intorelief.[from 18th c.]
    • 1819,Lord Byron,Don Juan, III.76:
      The henna should be deeply dyed to make / The skinrelieved appear more fairly fair[]
    • 1927,Countee Cullen,From the Dark Tower:
      The night whose sable breastrelieves the stark / White stars is no less lovely being dark

  1. (reflexive, euphemistic) Tourinate ordefecate.[from 20th c.]
    Synonyms:seeThesaurus:defecate,Thesaurus:urinate
    • 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 torelieve himself, so Barrett stopped the car along the berm of the road, which, unbeknown to the travelers, was directly adjacent to a strip mine.
    • 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, page161:
      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 peoplerelieve themselvesnot whenever or wherever they feel like it but at an appropriate time and place (Inglis & Holmes, 2000).
  2. (reflexive, euphemistic) To ease one's owndesire toorgasm, often throughmasturbation to orgasm.
    Synonyms:seeThesaurus:masturbate
    • 2014, Abbie Smith,Celibate Sex: Musings on Being Loved, Single, Twisted, and Holy:
      Nevertheless, torelieve oneself takes the edge off the desire and doesn't take advantage of others.

Derived terms

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Related terms

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Translations

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to ease from mental distress
to give relief from physical pain
to alleviate pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.
to provide comfort or assistance to someone in need, especially in poverty
to lift up, raise again
to raise out of danger or from a specified difficulty etc.
law: to give legal relief
to bring military help to a besieged town; to lift the siege on
to release from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc.
military: to free someone from their post
to make stand out; to make prominent
euphemistically: to urinate or defecatesee alsourinate,‎defecate
euphemistically: to relieve oneself of a desire to orgasmsee alsomasturbate
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

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Spanish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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relieve m (pluralrelieves)

  1. relief(protrusion)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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