ameliorate

verb

ame·lio·rate ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)

-ˈmē-lē-ə-

ameliorated; ameliorating

transitive verb

: to make better or more tolerable

medicine to ameliorate the pain

intransitive verb

: to grow better

amelioration

ə-ˌmēl-yə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)

-ˌmē-lē-ə-

noun

ameliorative

ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrā-tiv How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)

-ˈmē-lē-ə-

adjective

ameliorator

ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrā-tər How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)

noun

amelioratory

ə-ˈmēl-yə-rə-ˌtȯr-ē How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)

adjective

Did you know?

Ameliorate traces back to melior, the Latin adjective meaning "better," and is a synonym of the verbs better and improve. When is it better to use ameliorate? If a situation is bad, ameliorate indicates that the conditions have been made more tolerable. Thus, one might refer to drugs that ameliorate the side effects of chemotherapy, a loss of wages ameliorated by unemployment benefits, or a harsh law ameliorated by special exceptions. Improve and better apply when something bad is being made better (as in "the weather improved" or "she bettered her lot in life"), and they should certainly be chosen over ameliorate when something good is getting better still ("he improved his successful program," "she bettered her impressive scores").

Example Sentences

The disparate impact of the risk imposed by the "loser pays" rule can be ameliorated. Indeed, there are features of the British legal system which have led some observers to find the rule … to be considerably more benign to poorer litigants.

Edward F. Sherman, Texas Law Review, June 1998 And, after all, some illnesses are psychogenic. Many can be at least ameliorated by a positive cast of mind.

Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996 Even the abolitionists gave their attention not to the task of ameliorating conditions among slaves but to transforming slaves into free people.

John Hope Franklin, "The Land of Room Enough," 1981, in Race and History, 1989 trying to ameliorate the suffering of people who have lost their jobs This medicine should help ameliorate the pain.

Recent Examples on the Web In the early part of July, Catholic Social Services and other organizations scrambled to ameliorate some of the suffering and chaos at the Centennial Campground.

Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2022 American Airlines is offering pilots raises of nearly 17% by the end of 2024, a sign that the airline is trying to ameliorate the staffing shortages that have plagued the industry.

CBS News, 1 July 2022 The fixes on offer, while late in arriving, could be sufficient to ameliorate the current crisis.

Grace Segers, The New Republic, 18 May 2022 Congressional leaders in the House and Senate introduced The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act to ameliorate America’s ailing disaster recovery system.

Priscilla Almodovar, Fortune, 17 May 2022 Steady and consistent support to buy down cost burden for housing especially would ameliorate real suffering, promote and support better financial planning for families, and allow many households to begin saving and paying down debt.

Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 There, officials have spent $2.5 billion to mitigate the dust, deploying a variety of creative methods to ameliorate the problem.

The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Aug. 2022 Some scholars have argued that simply making end-of-life-planning documents more accessible can ameliorate these complications.

Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 17 May 2022 Congress can pass a law in most cases to ameliorate or roll back a Supreme Court opinion.

James Brown, USA TODAY, 26 June 2022 See More

ameliorate

verb

as in to improve

to make better social legislation that must be given credit for ameliorating the lot of millions of deprived people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

improve
enhance
remedy
remediate
better
meliorate
help
enrich
refine
amend
upgrade
perfect
rectify
reinforce
intensify
strengthen
correct
rehabilitate
reform
revise
emend
fortify
refurbish
boost
fine-tune
rework
reenforce
fine
edit
revamp
rehab
polish
redraft
hone
retouch
touch up
beef (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

worsen
impair
harm
reduce
hurt
damage
vitiate
tarnish
injure
diminish
spoil
lessen
flaw
blight
disfigure
mar
deface
endamage
lower
blemish

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of ameliorate are better, help, and improve. While all these words mean "to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard," ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure.

tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements

The meanings of help and ameliorate largely overlap; however, help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement.

a coat of paint would help that house

Both improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad.

measures to further improve the quality of medical care

immigrants hoping to better their lot

单词	ameliorate
释义	ameliorate verb ame·lio·rate ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt -ˈmē-lē-ə- ameliorated; ameliorating transitive verb : to make better or more tolerable medicine to ameliorate the pain intransitive verb : to grow better amelioration ə-ˌmēl-yə-ˈrā-shən -ˌmē-lē-ə- noun ameliorative ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrā-tiv -ˈmē-lē-ə- adjective ameliorator ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrā-tər noun amelioratory ə-ˈmēl-yə-rə-ˌtȯr-ē adjective Did you know? Ameliorate traces back to melior, the Latin adjective meaning "better," and is a synonym of the verbs better and improve. When is it better to use ameliorate? If a situation is bad, ameliorate indicates that the conditions have been made more tolerable. Thus, one might refer to drugs that ameliorate the side effects of chemotherapy, a loss of wages ameliorated by unemployment benefits, or a harsh law ameliorated by special exceptions. Improve and better apply when something bad is being made better (as in "the weather improved" or "she bettered her lot in life"), and they should certainly be chosen over ameliorate when something good is getting better still ("he improved his successful program," "she bettered her impressive scores"). Synonyms amend better enhance enrich help improve meliorate perfect refine upgrade See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences The disparate impact of the risk imposed by the "loser pays" rule can be ameliorated. Indeed, there are features of the British legal system which have led some observers to find the rule … to be considerably more benign to poorer litigants. Edward F. Sherman, Texas Law Review, June 1998 And, after all, some illnesses are psychogenic. Many can be at least ameliorated by a positive cast of mind. Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996 Even the abolitionists gave their attention not to the task of ameliorating conditions among slaves but to transforming slaves into free people. John Hope Franklin, "The Land of Room Enough," 1981, in Race and History, 1989 trying to ameliorate the suffering of people who have lost their jobs This medicine should help ameliorate the pain. Recent Examples on the Web In the early part of July, Catholic Social Services and other organizations scrambled to ameliorate some of the suffering and chaos at the Centennial Campground. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Aug. 2022 American Airlines is offering pilots raises of nearly 17% by the end of 2024, a sign that the airline is trying to ameliorate the staffing shortages that have plagued the industry. CBS News, 1 July 2022 The fixes on offer, while late in arriving, could be sufficient to ameliorate the current crisis. Grace Segers, The New Republic, 18 May 2022 Congressional leaders in the House and Senate introduced The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act to ameliorate America’s ailing disaster recovery system. Priscilla Almodovar, Fortune, 17 May 2022 Steady and consistent support to buy down cost burden for housing especially would ameliorate real suffering, promote and support better financial planning for families, and allow many households to begin saving and paying down debt. Roger Valdez, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 There, officials have spent $2.5 billion to mitigate the dust, deploying a variety of creative methods to ameliorate the problem. The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Aug. 2022 Some scholars have argued that simply making end-of-life-planning documents more accessible can ameliorate these complications. Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 17 May 2022 Congress can pass a law in most cases to ameliorate or roll back a Supreme Court opinion. James Brown, USA TODAY, 26 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology alteration of meliorate — see meliorate First Known Use 1656, in the meaning defined at transitive sense ameliorate verb as in to improve to make better social legislation that must be given credit for ameliorating the lot of millions of deprived people Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance improve enhance remedy remediate better meliorate help enrich refine amend upgrade perfect rectify reinforce intensify strengthen correct rehabilitate reform revise emend fortify refurbish boost fine-tune rework reenforce fine edit revamp rehab polish redraft hone retouch touch up beef (up) Antonyms & Near Antonyms worsen impair harm reduce hurt damage vitiate tarnish injure diminish spoil lessen flaw blight disfigure mar deface endamage lower blemish See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of ameliorate are better, help, and improve. While all these words mean "to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard," ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure. tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements The meanings of help and ameliorate largely overlap; however, help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement. a coat of paint would help that house Both improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad. measures to further improve the quality of medical care immigrants hoping to better their lot
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ameliorate

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

verb

Synonym Chooser