relief means the removal of stress or discomfort. It carries an Arena rating of 1643, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, relief ranks #2,351 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #6,046 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #7,084 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words, #7,100 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say.
relief is pronounced /ɹɪˈliːf/.
Why “relief” is a great word
The alleviation or removal of distress, pain, or anxiety. From Middle English, from Old French relief ('assistance'), from relever ('to relieve'), from Latin relevare ('to lift up, lighten'), from re- ('again') + levare ('to lift'), first attested in the 14th century. Unlike comfort, which suggests a positive provision of ease, or release, which implies a physical or legal setting free, relief is defined by the subtraction of a specific negative. It is the cool breeze after stifling heat, the unclenching of a jaw held tight for hours, the silence when a grinding engine at last stops—a quiet, hollowed-out space where a pressure once was, the body remembering how to sink when the hand that pressed it down at last lets go.
Etymology
From Old French relief (“assistance”), from Old French relever (“to relieve”), from Latin relevare (“to raise up, make light”). See also relieve.
noun
- 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.”
- 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,[…].””
- 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.”
- Aid or assistance offered in time of need.“Relief arrived quickly after the disaster.”
- Military assistance to break a siege or an encirclement.
- Court-ordered compensation, aid, or protection, a redress.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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”
- 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?”
- The supposed projection of a charge from the surface of a field, indicated by shading on the sinister and lower sides.
adj
- Characterized by surface inequalities.
- Of or used in letterpress.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.