Word.ws English Dictionary

relieving

/ɹɪˈliːvɪŋ/

relieving is the present participle and gerund of relieve.

Meaning of relieve

Verb

relieve (third-person singular simple present relieves, present participle relieving, simple past and past participle relieved)

  1. (transitive) To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of.
    • I was greatly relieved by the jury's verdict.
  2. (transitive) To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort.
    Synonyms:
    liss
  3. (transitive) To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.).
  4. (transitive) To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty).
  5. (obsolete) To lift up; to raise again.
  6. (archaic) To raise (someone) out of danger or from (a specified difficulty etc.).

See all 13 meanings of relieve

Adjective

relieving (comparative more relieving, superlative most relieving)

  1. That brings relief.
    • Like a weary insomniac, France too greeted the relieving dawn chiefly longing for one thing only – repose.1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 24

Noun

relieving (plural relievings)

  1. (archaic) A change in colour, texture, etc. that relieves monotony.
    • Purple flowers are commonly contrasted with centres or variegations of bright yellow, as blue flowers are with like relievings of orange […]1850, George Field, Rudiments of the Painters' Art, page 68
    • The light—divested of its aching brilliancy, lies sweetly upon the floor, checkered as that old man's life, in its quaint, yet charming relievings of shadow.1855, Arthur's Illustrated Home Magazine, volume 5, page 42

Forms of relieving

Adjective
comparativemore relieving
superlativemost relieving
Noun
pluralrelievings

Origin of relieving

From relieve + -ing.

Words formed from relieving

Phrases with relieving

Questions about relieving

What does relieving mean?
Relieving means that brings relief.
What is relieving the present participle and gerund of?
Relieving is the present participle and gerund of relieve.
What part of speech is relieving?
Relieving can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce relieving?
Relieving is pronounced /ɹɪˈliːvɪŋ/ (UK).

Words near relieving in the dictionary

  1. relievers
  2. relieves
  3. relieves nature
  4. relievest
  5. relieveth
  6. relieving
  7. relieving arch
  8. relieving arches
  9. relieving nature
  10. relieving officer
  11. relieving officers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: relieving (page history and authors); relieve (page history and authors). 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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-relieving.wav.

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