alleviate
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to make something like pain or a problem less severe or easier to bear.
to make suffering, deficiency, or a problem less severe. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the burden being eased.
Simple“The new medicine helped to alleviate her back pain within minutes.”
In context“The government introduced several new measures designed to alleviate the housing shortage in the city's most crowded districts.”
UsageCommonly collocates with 'pain', 'suffering', 'poverty', or 'symptoms'.
Teacher's tipLearners often confuse this with 'solve'. Alleviate means to make a bad situation better, not necessarily to fix it completely.
- 02 C1 Advanced
to pay off part of a debt or loan.
to reduce the principal of a debt or financial obligation through partial payment.
Simple“He used his year-end bonus to alleviate some of his student loan debt.”
In context“The restructuring plan allowed the corporation to alleviate its massive debt burden by selling off non-core assets.”
UsageUsed specifically in the context of reducing the total amount of a debt.
Teacher's tipThis is a highly specialised financial use; in everyday English, 'pay off' or 'reduce' is much more common.
Synonymsreducepay downAntonyms
Usage alleviate problem
Borrowed from Late Latin alleviatus, past participle of alleviāre (“to lighten; to alleviate”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.