ameliorate means to make better, or improve, something perceived to be in a negative condition. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 72 out of 100.
ameliorate is pronounced /əˈmiːli.əɹeɪt/.
Why “ameliorate” is a great word
AMELIORATE — [Verb] To make something bad or unsatisfactory better. From French améliorer, from Old French ameillorer, from a- (ad-, expressing direction) + meillorer (to improve), from Late Latin meliorāre, from Latin melior ("better"). First attested in English in the mid-17th century. Unlike "improve," which can polish what is already good, or "aggravate," which deliberately worsens a condition, ameliorate is the specific labor of elevation from a recognized deficit. It is the slow draining of a flooded field, the careful revision of a draconian law, and the steady reclamation of blighted land—a quiet, deliberate counterforce against the world’s gravitational pull toward decay.
verb
- To make better, or improve, something perceived to be in a negative condition.“They offered some compromises in an effort to ameliorate the situation.”
- To become better; improve.