RELIEF

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does relief mean? 

• RELIEF (noun)
  The noun RELIEF has 11 senses:

1. the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced

2. the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress)

3. (law) redress awarded by a court

4. someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

5. assistance in time of difficulty

6. a pause for relaxation

7. a change for the better

8. aid for the aged or indigent or handicapped

9. the act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance)

10. sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background

11. the act of freeing a city or town that has been besieged

  Familiarity information: RELIEF used as a noun is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RELIEF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

alleviation; assuagement; relief

Context example:

as he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

comfort (a feeling of freedom from worry or disappointment)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

ease; relief

Context example:

getting it off his conscience gave him some ease

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

comfort; comfortableness (a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

reprieve; respite (a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(law) redress awarded by a court

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Context example:

was the relief supposed to be protection from future harm or compensation for past injury?

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

amends; damages; indemnification; indemnity; redress; restitution (a sum of money paid in compensation for loss or injury)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

backup; backup man; fill-in; relief; reliever; stand-in; substitute

Context example:

we need extra employees for summer fill-ins

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

compeer; equal; match; peer (a person who is of equal standing with another in a group)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

locum; locum tenens (someone (physician or clergyman) who substitutes temporarily for another member of the same profession)

double; stunt man; stunt woman (a stand-in for movie stars to perform dangerous stunts)

alternate; replacement; surrogate (someone who takes the place of another person)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Assistance in time of difficulty

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

ministration; relief; succor; succour

Context example:

the contributions provided some relief for the victims

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

aid; assist; assistance; help (the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

comfort; consolation; solace (the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction)

mercy (alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A pause for relaxation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

relief; respite; rest; rest period

Context example:

people actually accomplish more when they take time for short rests

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

break; intermission; interruption; pause; suspension (a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

breath; breather; breathing place; breathing space; breathing spell; breathing time (a short respite)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A change for the better

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

easing; moderation; relief

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

alteration; change; modification (an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

disembarrassment (something that extricates you from embarrassment)

breath of fresh air (a welcome relief)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Aid for the aged or indigent or handicapped

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he has been on relief for many years

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

public assistance; social welfare; welfare (governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

alleviation; easement; easing; relief

Context example:

he asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

decrease; diminution; reduction; step-down (the act of decreasing or reducing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

detente (the easing of tensions or strained relations (especially between nations))

palliation (easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing the cause)

liberalisation; liberalization; relaxation (the act of making less strict)

decompressing; decompression (relieving pressure (especially bringing a compressed person gradually back to atmospheric pressure))

spasmolysis (the relaxation or relief of muscle spasms)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

embossment; relief; relievo; rilievo; sculptural relief

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

sculpture (a three-dimensional work of plastic art)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relief"):

bas relief; basso relievo; basso rilievo; low relief (a sculptural relief in which forms extend only slightly from the background; no figures are undercut)

half-relief; mezzo-relievo; mezzo-rilievo (a sculptural relief between low relief and high relief)

alto relievo; alto rilievo; high relief (a sculptural relief in which forms extend out from the background to at least half their depth)

Sense 11

Meaning:

The act of freeing a city or town that has been besieged

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

he asked for troops for the relief of Atlanta

Hypernyms ("relief" is a kind of...):

freeing; liberation; release (the act of liberating someone or something)

 Context examples 

The minimally invasive SPG block takes almost immediate effect with relief potentially lasting for months, researchers said.

(Innovative Treatment Offers Relief to Children with Frequent Migraine Headaches, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This may lead to pain relief from vascular headaches.

(Almotriptan, NCI Thesaurus)

But this was the only point of relief.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

After that, your expenses will almost instantly drop, and you will able to breathe a sigh of relief.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Mrs. March sighed, and Jo looked up with an air of relief.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) In the last week, how much relief have pain treatments or medications provided?

(BPI - Relief Pain Treatments Provided, NCI Thesaurus)

Treatment may include pain relief and other medicines.

(Diabetic Nerve Problems, NIH)

When Mansfield was considered, time was precious; and the state of his own mind made him find relief only in motion.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

In medicine, a pain relief method that takes the patient's attention away from the pain.

(Distraction, NCI Dictionary)

Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM) In the past 30 days, how often have you had to go to someone other than your prescribing physician to get sufficient pain relief from medications?

(COMM - Other Sources for Pain Medication, NCI Thesaurus)