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Verb: relieve  ri'leev
  1. Provide physical relief, as from pain
    "This pill will relieve your headaches";
    - alleviate, palliate, assuage
     
  2. Free someone temporarily from his or her obligations
    - take over
     
  3. Grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to
    "She relieved me from the exam";
    - exempt, free
     
  4. Lessen the intensity of or calm
    "relieve the fears";
    - still, allay, ease
     
  5. Prevent being ruined, destroyed, lost, or harmed
    - salvage, salve, save
     
  6. Relieve oneself of troubling information
    - unbosom
     
  7. (medicine) provide relief for
    "relieve his illness";
    - remedy
     
  8. Free from a burden, evil, or distress
     
  9. Take by stealing
    "The thief relieved me of $100"
     
  10. Grant exemption or release to
    "Please relieve me from this class";
    - excuse, let off, exempt
     
  11. Alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive
    "relieve the pressure and the stress";
    - lighten

Derived forms: relieving, relieved, relieves

Type of: absolve, ameliorate, amend, better, care for, comfort, confide, console, deliver, discharge, disembarrass, free, improve, meliorate, mend, mitigate, rescue, rid, solace, soothe, take, treat

Encyclopedia: Relieve