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al·le·vi·ate

(ə-lēvē-āt′)

tr.v. al·le·vi·at·ed, al·le·vi·at·ing, al·le·vi·ates

1. To make (pain, for example) less intense or more bearable: a drug that alleviates cold symptoms. See Synonyms at relieve.

2. To lessen or reduce: alleviate unemployment.

[Middle English alleviaten, from Late Latin alleviāre, alleviāt-, to lighten : Latin ad-, ad- + levis, light; see leg^wh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

al·le′vi·ation n.

al·levi·a′tor n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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