1425-75;late Middle Englishalleviaten < Late Latinalleviātus (past participle of alleviāre), equivalent to al-al- + levi(s) light, not heavy + -ātus-ate1
Related forms
unalleviated, adjective
unalleviatedly, adverb
unalleviating, adjective
unalleviatingly, adverb
Synonyms
lighten, diminish, abate, relieve, assuage.
Antonyms
increase, strengthen; aggravate, intensify.
Examples from the web for alleviate
Shallow characters and trite writing do nothing do alleviate this sloppiness.
Your letter arrived as something to alleviate winter's dreary grays.
Researchers discover a way to briefly store data acoustically to alleviate traffic bottlenecks.
Cold water should be used to cover the affected area and alleviate the pain.
For now, the challenge is to alleviate growing pains.
But aid can alleviate human misery, such as when a visiting doctor gives vaccines or hands out medicine.
The new research begins to alleviate this problem.
On the marketing side, they're working hard to alleviate consumer-privacy fears.
Solid growth should alleviate investors' concerns.
Exercise is among the factors found to help alleviate stress.
British Dictionary definitions for alleviate
alleviate
/əˈliːvɪˌeɪt/
verb
1.
(transitive) to make (pain, sorrow, etc) easier to bear; lessen; relieve
C15: from Late Latin alleviāre to mitigate, from Latin levis light
Word Origin and History for alleviate
v.
late 15c., from Middle French allevier or directly from Late Latin alleviatus, past participle of alleviare "to lighten," from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + levis "light" in weight (see lever). Related: Alleviated; alleviating.