v.
- alleviate or remove (pain, distress, or difficulty).
▸cause (someone) to stop feeling distressed or anxious.
- release (someone) from duty by taking their place.
-
(relieve someone of)
take (a burden or responsibility) from someone.
- bring military support for (a besieged place).
- make less tedious or monotonous.
-
(relieve oneself)
formal or euphemistic urinate or defecate.
- archaic make (something) stand out.
Derivative
- relievable adj.
- relieved adj.
- relievedly adv.
- reliever n.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. relever, from L. relevare, from re- (expressing intensive force) + levare ‘raise’.