'Relieve' definitions:

Definition of 'relieve'

(from WordNet)
verb
Provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" [syn: relieve, alleviate, palliate, assuage]
verb
Free someone temporarily from his or her obligations [syn: take over, relieve]
verb
Grant relief or an exemption from a rule or requirement to; "She exempted me from the exam" [syn: exempt, relieve, free] [ant: apply, enforce, implement]
verb
Lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears" [syn: still, allay, relieve, ease]
verb
Save from ruin, destruction, or harm [syn: salvage, salve, relieve, save]
verb
Relieve oneself of troubling information [syn: unbosom, relieve]
verb
Provide relief for; "remedy his illness" [syn: remedy, relieve]
verb
Free from a burden, evil, or distress
verb
Take by stealing; "The thief relieved me of $100"
verb
Grant exemption or release to; "Please excuse me from this class" [syn: excuse, relieve, let off, exempt]
verb
Alleviate or remove (pressure or stress) or make less oppressive; "relieve the pressure and the stress"; "lighten the burden of caring for her elderly parents" [syn: relieve, lighten]

Definition of 'Relieve'

From: GCIDE
  • Relieve \Re*lieve"\ (r?-l?v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-l?vd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Relieving.] [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis light. See Levity, and cf. Relevant, Relief.]
  • 1. To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. [Obs.] --Piers Plowman. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to set off by contrast. [1913 Webster]
  • Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of supernatural height. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into; to remove the monotony or sameness of. [1913 Webster]
  • The poet must . . . sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or crushes; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to alleviate; to abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the wants of the poor. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress, or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid, help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town. [1913 Webster]
  • Now lend assistance and relieve the poor. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge of any duty. [1913 Webster]
  • Who hath relieved you? --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. To ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses, or the like; to right. [1913 Webster]
  • Syn: To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support; substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy; redress; indemnify. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'relieve'

From: Moby Thesaurus