The Collaborative International Dictionary
Relieve \Re*lieve"\ (r?-l?v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-l?vd"); p. pr. & vb. n. Relieving.] [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis light. See Levity, and cf. Relevant, Relief.]
To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. [Obs.]
--Piers Plowman.-
To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or conspicuousness to; to set off by contrast.
Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of supernatural height.
--Sir W. Scott. -
To raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into; to remove the monotony or sameness of.
The poet must . . . sometimes relieve the subject with a moral reflection.
--Addison. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or crushes; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to alleviate; to abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the wants of the poor.
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To free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress, or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid, help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town.
Now lend assistance and relieve the poor.
--Dryden. -
To release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge of any duty.
Who hath relieved you?
--Shak. -
To ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by indemnification for losses, or the like; to right.
Syn: To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support; substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy; redress; indemnify.
Relieving \Re*liev"ing\, a. Serving or tending to relieve. Relieving arch (Arch.), a discharging arch. See under Discharge, v. t. Relieving tackle. (Naut.)
A temporary tackle attached to the tiller of a vessel during gales or an action, in case of accident to the tiller ropes.
A strong tackle from a wharf to a careened vessel, to prevent her from going over entirely, and to assist in righting her.
--Totten.
--Craig.
Wiktionary
That brings relief. (from 16th c.) v
(present participle of relieve English)
Wikipedia
Usage examples of "relieving".
After relieving myself, anticipating the end of detachment and a plunge into ecstasy, I turned about only to find Xaefyer waiting for me just beyond the doorway.
By its warming astringency, it exercises cordial properties which are most useful in arresting passive diarrhoea, and in relieving flatulent indigestion.
When ou-ah beloved country is reduced to such straits, that she must borow from strangers, I cannot think of relieving private indigence.
Then he moved on to Acre, which he took, relieving four thousand Moslem captives, and so on to other towns, all of which fell before him, till at length he came to Ascalon, which he besieged in form, setting up his mangonels against its walls.
Its return is rather sooner than I had originally contemplated, but having accomplished much of what I proposed on leaving the Rappahannock--namely, relieving the valley of the presence of the enemy and drawing his army north of the Potomac--I determined to recross the latter river.
December Ned Sanderman pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for improper disposal of a body and failure to report a homicide, thus relieving me of the need to return to Mono County for a trial.
By all accounts, Schine was perfectly happy to be drafted and McCarthy showed no interest in relieving him of his duty.
The advocate hurries to the bed of the two frightened ladies, thinking of relieving their anxiety, but, when he sees them buried in their broken-down bedstead, he bursts into a loud laugh.
The operation consists in cutting down upon the strangulated bowel, thus relieving it of its constriction and facilitating its replacement.
The moments when she listened to the praises of her lover became gradually more and more dear to the high-born Edith, relieving the flattery with which her ear was weary, and presenting to her a subject of secret contemplation, more worthy, as he seemed by general report, than those who surpassed him in rank and in the gifts of fortune.
If successfully brought to safe harbor in Matagorda Bay, the Alamo would go far toward relieving the mounting hardships of the republic.
There they sat, still and solemn as the judges of the Areopagus, not relieving the cruel tension by the faintest indication of a smile or a frown.
These forces had been part of the small army which had come with General Carrington through Beira, and after a detour of thousands of miles, through their own wonderful energy they had arrived in time to form portion of the relieving column.
These vents allow steam to escape, helping to avoid soggy crusts and relieving pressure when the juices begin to overflow.
One morning as Mooney made his tour all dressed out in his whites, he climbed the ladder to the fantail while the dogs were relieving themselves on the deck.