relief
Syllables: re·lief/ɹɪˈliːf/UK/rɪˈliːf/
relief noun: the removal of stress or discomfort. Also the ellipsis of relief teacher.
Noun (1)
relief (countable and uncountable, plural reliefs)
- The removal of stress or discomfort.
- I sighed with relief when I found out that my daughter hadn't got lost, but was waiting for me at home.
- Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness,[…]. It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- ease, alleviation, liss, respite, comfort, consolation, release, solace
- The feeling associated with the removal of stress or discomfort.
- Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one,[…].”1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC
- DfT's action was greeted with great relief in many quarters.2020 April 8, Philip Haigh, “Out of the current crisis we could see meaningful changes”, in Rail, page 56
- Synonyms:
- ease, alleviation, liss
- Release from a post or duty, as when replaced by another.
- The person who takes over a shift for another.
- Officer Schmidt can finally go home because his relief has arrived.
- At Leeds a relief crew was waiting—but without a relief locomotive; after some discussion, the new men offered to take on the A3. [...].1963 February, “Motive Power Miscellany: London Midland Region”, in Modern Railways, page 136
- Synonyms:
- stand-in, substitute, backup, fill-in
- Aid or assistance offered in time of need.
- Relief arrived quickly after the disaster.
- On busy days, they also may be seen bowling along the Brighton main line, north of Keymer Junction, with a relief Newhaven boat express, […].1950 November, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Southern England”, in Railway Magazine, page 772
- Military assistance to break a siege or an encirclement.
- Court-ordered compensation, aid, or protection, a redress.
- Synonyms:
- amends, recompense, remuneration, acquittal, assyth, bote, compensation, indemnification, indemnity, mends
- A lowering of a tax through special provisions; tax relief.
- A certain fine or composition paid by the heir of a tenant upon the death of the ancestor.
- Permission for a player to move their ball to a more convenient spot before taking a shot, under certain circumstances.
Noun (2)
relief (countable and uncountable, plural reliefs)
- A method of sculpture or other artwork in which shapes or figures protrude from a flat background.
- A sculpture or other artwork made with such a method.
- Synonyms:
- embossing
- The apparent difference in elevation in the surface of a painting or drawing made noticeable by a variation in light or color.
- The difference of elevations on a surface.
- the relief on that part of the Earth's surface
- The approach to Newcastle (Central) Station from the north after a heavy snowfall. The complicated track layout is thrown into clear relief by the snow [referring to dark rails poking through the snow]1947 January and February, “A Winter's Day on the Tyneside”, in Railway Magazine, page 29, photo caption
- Synonyms:
- texture, topography
- Relative distinctness, perceived difference due to contrast.
- And is it that the haze of grief
Hath stretch’d my former joy so great?
The lowness of the present state,
That sets the past in this relief?1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXIV”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 41
- And is it that the haze of grief
- The supposed projection of a charge from the surface of a field, indicated by shading on the sinister and lower sides.
Adjective
relief (comparative more relief, superlative most relief)
- Characterized by surface inequalities.
- Of or used in letterpress.
Also used as
relief is also the ellipsis of relief teacher.
relief meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
relief in Hindi
- राहत, राहत मिले
relief in Tamil
- நிவாரணம்
relief in Marathi
- दिलासा
relief in Urdu
- راحت
More languagesFewer languages
- relief in Telugu
- ఉపశమనం upaśamanaṁ
- relief in Kannada
- ಉಪಶಮನ
- relief in Punjabi
- ਰਾਹਤ, ਰਾਹਤ ਮਿਲੇ
- relief in Gujarati
- રાહત
- relief in Nepali
- राहत
- relief in Arabic
- رَاحَة rāḥa, تَخْفِيف taḵfīf, نَقْش نَافِر naqš nāfir
- relief in Malay
- bentuk bumi
- relief in Indonesian
- relief
Examples of relief in a sentence
- To everyone's great relief, the tuneless carol singers finally ceased their warbling.
- The plaintiff recovered in his suit, being awarded declaratory relief and a clearing of his name.
- After a few minutes of manipulation each week, she obtained days of relief from her neck pain.
Synonyms of relief
23 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of relief
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | reliefs |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more relief |
| superlative | most relief |
Origin of relief
From Old French relief (“assistance”), from Old French relever (“to relieve”), from Latin relevare (“to raise up, make light”). See also relieve.
From Italian rilievo, from rilevare (“to raise”), from Latin relevō (“to raise”).
Words formed from relief
- ancillary relief
- antirelief
- breathe a sigh of relief
- comic relief
- corollary relief
- debt relief
- demirelief
- epirelief
- half-relief
- hydrostatic pressure relief system
- hyporelief
- indoor relief
- judicial relief
- microrelief
- outdoor relief
- out-relief
- pain relief
- photorelief
- poor relief
- prayer for relief
- relief agency
- relief drinking
- reliefful
- reliefless
- relieflike
- relief pitcher
- relief printing
- relief teacher
- relief tube
- relief valve
- relief worker
- relieve
- sigh of relief
- strain relief
- tax relief
- that's a relief
- high relief
- low relief
- counter-relief
- mid relief
- relief map
- sunk relief
Phrases with relief
- bas relief
- relief maps
- relief tubes
- Relief Church
- relief valves
- relief workers
- relief agencies
- relief pitchers
- relief teachers
- sighs of relief
- prayers for relief
- breathed a sigh of relief
3 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with relief
Questions about relief
- What does relief mean?
- Relief means the removal of stress or discomfort.
- What is relief in Hindi?
- Relief in Hindi is राहत, राहत मिले. See Relief meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is relief?
- Relief can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce relief?
- Relief is pronounced /rɪˈliːf/ (UK).
- What is the plural of relief?
- The plural of relief is reliefs.
Words near relief in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: relief (page history and authors); relief (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); relief (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-relief.ogg.
Cite this entry: “relief.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/relief. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.