relief
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Assistance in time of difficulty.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihleefSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪˈlif
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Assistance in time of difficulty
“The contributions provided some relief for the victims.”
The feeling associated with the removal of stress or discomfort.
Aid or assistance offered in time of need.
Someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)
The person who takes over a shift for another.
Release from a post or duty, as when replaced by another.
adjective
of a surface
Characterized by surface inequalities.
Of or used in letterpress.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Assistance in time of difficulty
Used this way, relief is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The contributions provided some relief for the victims.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “relief for …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: relief for …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use relief
- “He asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain.”noun
- “The contributions provided some relief for the victims.”noun
- “As he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A map having contour lines through points of equal elevation.
A pitcher who does not start the game.
Printing from a plate with raised characters.
A valve in a container in which pressure can build up (as a steam boiler).
A sculptural relief between low relief and high relief.
A sculptural relief in which forms extend out from the background to at least half their depth.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: assistance in time of difficulty
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.