Relief
[rɪ'liːf] or [rɪ'lif]
Definition
(noun.) the act of freeing a city or town that has been besieged; 'he asked for troops for the relief of Atlanta'.
(noun.) aid for the aged or indigent or handicapped; 'he has been on relief for many years'.
(noun.) assistance in time of difficulty; 'the contributions provided some relief for the victims'.
(noun.) sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background.
(noun.) the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced; 'as he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief'.
(noun.) (law) redress awarded by a court; 'was the relief supposed to be protection from future harm or compensation for past injury?'.
(noun.) the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress); 'he enjoyed his relief from responsibility'; 'getting it off his conscience gave him some ease'.
Checker: Vernon--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) 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.
(n.) 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.
(n.) 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.
(n.) 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.
(n.) The projection of a figure above the ground or plane on which it is formed.
(n.) The appearance of projection given by shading, shadow, etc., to any figure.
(n.) The height to which works are raised above the bottom of the ditch.
(n.) The elevations and surface undulations of a country.
Edited by Albert
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Succor, help, assistance, aid, support.[2]. Redress, indemnification, remedy.[3]. Projection, prominence, RELIEVO.
Typist: Robbie
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Succor, support, release, extrication, alleviation, mitigation, aid, holp,assistance, remedy, redress, exemption, deliverance, refreshment, comfort
ANT:Oppression, aggravation, intensification, burdensomeness, trouble, exhaustion,weariness, discomfort
Edited by Daniel
Definition
n. the removal of any evil: release from a post or duty replacement: one who replaces another: that which relieves or mitigates: aid: assistance to a pauper as outdoor relief: a certain fine or composition paid by the heir of a tenant at the death of the ancestor: (fine art) the projection of a sculptured design from its ground as low relief (bas-relief basso-rilievo) middle relief (mezzo-rilievo) and high relief (alto-rilievo) according as the carved figures project very little in a moderate degree or in a very considerable degree from the background: a work of art executed in relief: (her.) the supposed projection of a charge from the surface of a field indicated by shading on the sinister and lower sides: the condition of land surfaces as regards elevations and depressions—as indicated in a Relief′-map in which the form of the country is expressed by elevations and depressions of the material used.—ns. Relief′-perspec′tive the art of applying the principles of perspective to relief in painting and sculpture in theatrical settings &c.; Relief′-work public work to provide employment for the poor in times of distress.—Relief Church a body who left the Established Church of Scotland on account of the oppressive exercise of patronage organised in 1761 uniting with the United Secession Church in 1847 to form the United Presbyterian Church.
Typist: Michael
Examples
- The shady retreat furnished relief from the garish day to the primitive man, and the opaque shades and Venetian blinds of modern civilization exclude the excess of light at our windows. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Oh, certainly, certainly, answered Mr. Baker with a sigh of relief. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Against the dark draperies veiling the archway the slender figure of the handsome Greek stood out in bold relief. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Marianne slowly continued It is a great relief to mewhat Elinor told me this morningI have now heard exactly what I wished to hear. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Maurice drew a long breath of relief. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Of course it would be a great relief to me to ask you several questions, sir; but I remember your prohibition. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- With a sense of relief he entered the library and flung himself down in his armchair. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Do you think, Rosa, you are any relief or comfort to me? Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- This process is repeated several times, the object of it being not so much to give relief to the lines, as to roughen the surface of the stone, and thus facilitate its absorption of water. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- The girl had almost ceased to breathe, when, to her relief, the head disappeared and she heard the brute's footsteps leaving the window. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Many of the foreigners were utterly destitute; and their increasing numbers at length forbade a recourse to the usual modes of relief. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Lydgate's odious humors and their neighbors' apparent avoidance of them had an unaccountable date for her in their relief from money difficulties. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- Senefelder, in his subsequent improvements, gave a slight relief to the letters by the original plan of using diluted aqua-fortis, by which means the impressions obtained were blacker. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Caliphronas drew a long breath of relief, and sprang to his feet. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- To my mind it symbolizes a view of the state which we are outgrowing, and throws into relief the view towards which we are struggling. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- Still, the more numerous and violent pleasures which reach the soul through the body are generally of this sort--they are reliefs of pain. Plato. The Republic.
- The walls were faced with bas-reliefs representing scenes in his life done in massive silver. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The characteristic art of the period consists of deep reliefs done upon bone and line engraving upon bone. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In addition it has one thousand five hundred bas-reliefs. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Spain was too far off for periodic reliefs, and the war demanded a more thorough training than was possible with these on and off soldiers. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Edited by Lilian