The Collaborative International Dictionary
Relief \Re*lief"\ (r?-l?f"), n. [OE. relef, F. relief, properly, a lifting up, a standing out. See Relieve, and cf. Basrelief, Rilievi.]
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The act of relieving, or the state of being relieved; the removal, or partial removal, of any evil, or of anything oppressive or burdensome, by which some ease is obtained; succor; alleviation; comfort; ease; redress.
He sees the dire contagion spread so fast, That, where it seizes, all relief is vain.
--Dryden. -
Release from a post, or from the performance of duty, by the intervention of others, by discharge, or by relay; as, a relief of a sentry.
For this relief much thanks; 'tis bitter cold.
--Shak. That which removes or lessens evil, pain, discomfort, uneasiness, etc.; that which gives succor, aid, or comfort; also, the person who relieves from performance of duty by taking the place of another; a relay.
(Feudal Law) A fine or composition which the heir of a deceased tenant paid to the lord for the privilege of taking up the estate, which, on strict feudal principles, had lapsed or fallen to the lord on the death of the tenant.
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(Sculp. & Arch.) The projection of a figure above the ground or plane on which it is formed.
Note: Relief is of three kinds, namely, high relief ( altorilievo), low relief, ( basso-rilievo), and demirelief ( mezzo-rilievo). See these terms in the Vocabulary.
(Paint.) The appearance of projection given by shading, shadow, etc., to any figure.
(Fort.) The height to which works are raised above the bottom of the ditch.
--Wilhelm.-
(Physical Geog.) The elevations and surface undulations of a country.
--Guyot.Relief valve, a valve arranged for relieving pressure of steam, gas, or liquid; an escape valve.
Syn: Alleviation; mitigation; aid; help; succor; assistance; remedy; redress; indemnification.
WordNet
n. a sculptural relief in which forms extend only slightly from the background; no figures are undercut [syn: bas relief, basso relievo, basso rilievo] [ant: alto relievo]
Usage examples of "low relief".
He could work in low relief, or in three-quarters, or even sometimes in the full round.
Upon its walls curved graven scenes in low relief, each half again and more its predecessor's breadth, to the number of seven where the chamber wound from view -- which scenes, when I had come fully home to sense, I saw depicted alabasterly the several chapters of my youth, most pleasing to a couched eye.
His chest too lost its tremulous teats and, as his thorax filled out, slipped back into low relief.
Below spread a wide plain or a steppe, marked here and there with low relief and vegetation.
The expanse of the Northern Peneplain spread out below like a brown and ochre map of low relief, veined with dark green watercourses.
Beside the bed stood a peculiar narrow cabinet made of a substance slick as polished bone but unyielding as metal, having on its slightly slanted top surface a large gray square and many smaller squares of different colors, each of these decorated with peculiar symbols carved in low relief.
In the wall at the end whirled two enormous dragon shapes, cut in low relief.
I sat with my feet dangling over the edge, thinking nothing, until the sun's oblique rays illuminated the dunes in a soft, tempting chiaroscuro of low relief.
One was carved in low relief on a heavy and roughly circular slab of stone about three feet in diameter.
The remains were in low relief beneath the white cover, like a child's snow angel.