Definition

Noun 1. The alleviation or removal of distress, pain, or discomfort: The feeling of comfort or ease that comes when something unpleasant, burdensome, or stressful is reduced or ends. 2. Assistance or aid provided to people in need, especially during a crisis: Help given to those suffering from poverty, disaster, or hardship. 3. A person or group that replaces another, especially to provide a rest: Someone who takes over a duty or task from another. 4. A distinctive or prominent quality, especially against a contrasting background: The state of being clearly visible or noticeable due to contrast. 5. A method of sculpture where figures are raised from a flat background: An artistic technique where shapes project from a surface. 6. (Law) Legal redress or compensation: A remedy or award granted by a court.

Usage and Examples

• As the alleviation of distress:
  • The medicine provided immediate relief from her headache.
  • He sighed with relief when he found his lost keys.
• As aid or assistance:
  • International agencies sent relief to the flood victims.
  • She has been on unemployment relief since the factory closed.
• As a replacement:
  • The nurse waited for her relief to arrive at the end of her shift.
  • He worked as a relief driver for the bus company.
• As prominence or contrast:
  • The white church stood in sharp relief against the dark mountain.
  • The report brought the economic problems into stark relief.
• As a sculptural technique:
  • The wall was decorated with a beautiful marble relief.

Advanced Usage

• "on relief": Receiving government financial assistance due to poverty or unemployment.
  • Many families were on relief during the Great Depression.
• "relief pitcher" (Sports): In baseball, a pitcher who replaces the starting pitcher during a game.
  • The manager called for a relief pitcher from the bullpen.

Variants and Related Words

• Relieve (verb): To alleviate pain, distress, or a burden; to take over a duty from someone.
  • This pill will relieve your symptoms. / The guard will be relieved at midnight.
• Relieved (adjective): Feeling happy because something unpleasant has stopped or not happened.
  • I was so relieved to hear you were safe.
• Relief map (noun): A map that shows the topography (hills, valleys) of an area, often using colors or shading to indicate elevation.

Synonyms

• For alleviation: Alleviation, ease, comfort, respite.
• For aid: Aid, assistance, help, support, succor.
• For replacement: Substitute, replacement, stand-in, fill-in.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "breathe a sigh of relief": To feel a strong sense of relaxation and comfort after a period of worry or stress.
  • We all breathed a sigh of relief when the storm passed.
• "comic relief": A humorous scene or character in a serious story, intended to provide a temporary break from tension.
  • The porter in Macbeth serves as a moment of comic relief.
• "in bold/high/sharp relief": Very clearly or prominently, often due to strong contrast.
  • The crisis put the government's weaknesses in sharp relief.

Noun

1. the act of freeing a city or town that has been besieged
   • he asked for troops for the relief of Atlanta
2. sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background
3. the act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance)
   • he asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain
4. aid for the aged or indigent or handicapped
   • he has been on relief for many years
5. a change for the better
6. a pause for relaxation
   • people actually accomplish more when they take time for short rests
7. assistance in time of difficulty
   • the contributions provided some relief for the victims
8. someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult)
   • the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes
   • we need extra employees for summer fill-ins
9. (law) redress awarded by a court
   • was the relief supposed to be protection from future harm or compensation for past injury?
10. 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
11. the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
    • as he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief