relief
/rəˈlēf/
noun
noun: relief
- 1.a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress.”much to her relief, she saw the door open”
- a cause of or occasion for relief.plural noun: reliefs“it was a relief to find somewhere to stay”
- the alleviation of pain, discomfort, or distress.”tablets for the relief of pain”
- a temporary break in a generally tense or tedious situation.noun: light relief; plural noun: light reliefs“the comic characters aren’t part of the plot but just light relief”
- 2.assistance, especially in the form of food, clothing, or money, given to those in special need or difficulty.”raising money for famine relief”
- a remission of tax normally due.”people who donate money to charity will receive tax relief”
- LAWthe redress of a hardship or grievance.
- the action of raising the siege of a besieged town.”the relief of Mafeking”
- 3.a person or group of people replacing others who have been on duty.”the relief nurse was late”
- BASEBALL the role of a relief pitcher.
- 4.the state of being clearly visible or obvious due to being accentuated in some way.”the setting sun threw the snow-covered peaks into relief“
- a method of molding, carving, or stamping in which the design stands out from the surface, to a greater ( high relief ) or lesser ( low relief ) extent.noun: high relief; noun: low relief“he cast them in relief from molten metal”
- a piece of sculpture in relief.
- a representation of relief given by an arrangement of line or color or shading.
- GEOGRAPHY difference in height from the surrounding terrain; the amount of variation in elevation and slope in a particular area.”the sharp relief of many mountains”
Phrases
in relief
carved, molded, or stamped so as to stand out from the surface.
on relief
receiving government assistance because of need. “he was the type of man who ended up on relief when times were flush for everyone else”
Origin
late Middle English: from Old French, from relever ‘raise up, relieve’, from Latin relevare ‘raise again, alleviate’.