Relieving

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈliːvɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Causing relief by reducing discomfort or distress ; releasing someone from a responsibility or requirement
2. Alleviating pain, tension, or stress to make a situation easier ; removing or exempting an individual from an obligation
3. Making a condition less severe or uncomfortable ; ending or pausing a duty or task to lessen its load

Etymology: "Relieving" is simply "relieve" with the suffix "-ing" attached, so its story is really the story of "relieve." That verb came into English from Old French "relever," meaning to raise up again or lift a burden, which in turn came from Latin "relevare," built from "re-" (back, again) and "levare" (to raise, lighten), the same root that gives English "lever" and "levity." The sense of lifting a weight off someone turned naturally into easing pain or worry, and later into freeing a person from a duty, which is the meaning the adjective carries here. The "-ing" ending is a common English suffix that turns verbs into adjectives describing something that performs the action, as in "soothing" or "calming." So a "relieving" medicine or a "relieving" word of news is one that lifts the burden it addresses.

Synonyms: alleviating, soothing, comforting, mitigating, pacifying

Antonyms: aggravating, intensifying, exacerbating, worsening, irritating