The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - relieve v.

1) ease, lessen, reduce, diminish, abate, lift, raise, alleviate, mitigate, palliate, soften, soothe: Business will suffer if nothing is done to relieve the burden of high interest rates. The doctor gave me something to relieve the pain. 2) disburden, free, rid, liberate, disencumber, unburden, rescue, save, release: Winning the lottery relieved me of any immediate worries of poverty. 3) help, aid, assist, support, succour, rescue, save, deliver: Will the cavalry arrive in time to relieve the fort, which is under attack? 4 stand in (for) , replace, substitute for, take over for or from, US spell, Colloq sub for: I thought you were coming to relieve me at noon.