ameliorate
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a·mel·io·rate
(ə-mēl′yə-rāt′)tr. & intr.v. a·me·lio·rat·ed, a·me·lio·rat·ing, a·me·lio·rates
To make or become better; improve: Volunteers were able to ameliorate conditions in the refugee camp. Conditions are ameliorating.
[Alteration of meliorate.]
a·mel′io·ra·ble (-rə-bəl) adj.
a·mel′io·ra′tive adj.
a·mel′io·ra′tor n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ameliorate
(əˈmiːljəˌreɪt)vb
to make or become better; improve
[C18: from meliorate, influenced by French améliorer to improve, from Old French ameillorer to make better, from meillor better, from Latin melior]
ameliorable adj
aˈmeliorant n
aˈmeliorative adj
aˈmelioˌrator n
Usage: Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate is properly used to mean 'improve', not 'make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
a•mel•io•rate
(əˈmil yəˌreɪt, əˈmi li ə-)v.t., v.i. -rat•ed, -rat•ing.
to make or become better or more satisfactory; improve; meliorate.
[1760–70]
a•mel′io•ra•ble, adj.
a•mel`io•ra′tion, n.
a•mel′io•ra`tive, adj.
a•mel′io•ra`tor, n.
syn: See improve.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ameliorate
Past participle: ameliorated
Gerund: ameliorating
| Imperative |
|---|
| ameliorate |
| ameliorate |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. |  ameliorate - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"alleviate, relieve, palliate, assuage - provide physical relief, as from pain; "This pill will relieve your headaches" revitalize, regenerate - restore strength; "This food revitalized the patient" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" enrich - make better or improve in quality; "The experience enriched her understanding"; "enriched foods" build up, develop - change the use of and make available or usable; "develop land"; "The country developed its natural resources"; "The remote areas of the country were gradually built up" turn around - improve dramatically; "The new strategy turned around sales"; "The tutor turned around my son's performance in math" help - improve; change for the better; "New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture" upgrade - to improve what was old or outdated; "I've upgraded my computer so I can run better software"; "The company upgraded their personnel" condition - put into a better state; "he conditions old cars" emend - make improvements or corrections to; "the text was emended in the second edition" enhance - make better or more attractive; "This sauce will enhance the flavor of the meat" fix, furbish up, mend, repair, bushel, doctor, touch on, restore - restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please" reform - make changes for improvement in order to remove abuse and injustices; "reform a political system" reform - improve by alteration or correction of errors or defects and put into a better condition; "reform the health system in this country" build - improve the cleansing action of; "build detergents" fine-tune, refine, polish, down - improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" distill, make pure, purify, sublimate - remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; "purify the water" fructify - make productive or fruitful; "The earth that he fructified" advance - develop further; "We are advancing technology every day" upgrade - give better travel conditions to; "The airline upgraded me when I arrived late and Coach Class was full" educate - give an education to; "We must educate our youngsters better" |
| 2. |  ameliorate - get better; "The weather improved toward evening"heal - get healthy again; "The wound is healing slowly" change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" see the light, straighten out, reform - change for the better; "The lazy student promised to reform"; "the habitual cheater finally saw the light" surge - see one's performance improve; "He levelled the score and then surged ahead" turn around, pick up - improve significantly; go from bad to good; "Her performance in school picked up" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" fructify - become productive or fruitful; "The seeds fructified" upgrade - get better travel conditions; "I upgraded to First Class when Coach Class was overbooked" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
ameliorate
verb improve, better, benefit, reform, advance, promote, amend, elevate, raise, mend, mitigate, make better, assuage, meliorate Nothing can be done to ameliorate the situation.
Usage: Ameliorate is sometimes confused with alleviate but the words are not synonymous. Ameliorate comes ultimately from the Latin for `better', and means `to improve'. The nouns it typically goes with are condition, and situation. Alleviate means `to lessen', and frequently occurs with poverty, suffering, pain, symptoms, and effects. Occasionally ameliorate is used with effects and poverty where the other verb may be more appropriate.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
ameliorate
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
ameliorierenverbessern
kohentaaparantaa
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
ameliorate
[əˈmiːljəreɪt] vt (formal) [+ conditions, situation] → améliorer; [+ ill effects] → remédier àCollins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
ameliorate
vt. mejorar; adelantar; mejorarse.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012