- relief
- noun1 removal of anxiety/painADJECTIVE▪ considerable, deep, enormous, great, huge, immense, intense, overwhelming, tremendous▪ certain▪
The news of his appointment was received with a certain relief by most people.
▪ sheer▪ complete▪ short-lived, short-term, temporary▪The drugs only provided temporary relief from the pain.
▪ fast, immediate, instant▪ evident, obvious, palpable▪She smiled with evident relief.
▪Their relief at the news was palpable.
▪ blessed, much-needed, sweet, welcome▪ pain▪The injection gives complete pain relief.
▪ symptom, symptomatic (both medical)▪Your doctor can give you symptomatic relief, but there is no cure.
▪ stress▪Exercise is good for stress relief.
VERB + RELIEF▪ bring (sb), give (sb), offer (sb), provide (sb with)▪Morning brought no relief from the heat.
▪ come as▪The news came as a welcome relief to Bobby.
▪ seek▪She sought relief in vodka.
▪ find, get▪He found relief from his fears in a world of fantasy.
▪ experience, feel▪I felt enormous relief when he walked through the door.
▪ sense▪She could sense his relief when she said she wouldn't be leaving.
▪ expressRELIEF + VERB▪ come▪He believes that relief only comes from helping others with their suffering.
▪ flood through sb, sweep over sb, wash over sb▪Relief flooded through me as the plane landed safely.
RELIEF + NOUN▪ valve (esp. AmE)▪a pressure relief valve
PREPOSITION▪ in relief▪She smiled in relief.
▪ out of relief▪He hugged her out of sheer relief.
▪ to your relief▪To my great relief, she didn't notice that anything was wrong.
▪ with relief▪He sighed with relief.
▪ relief at▪relief at not having been made a fool of
▪ relief from▪relief from hunger
▪ relief to▪The news was a huge relief to her.
PHRASES▪ a cry of relief, a sigh of relief, tears of relief▪He breathed a sigh of relief.
▪ a sense of relief, a wave of relief2 food/money/medicine given to people in needADJECTIVE▪ humanitarian▪ disaster, emergency▪ famine, flood, hurricane, tsunami▪ short-term▪We need long-term solutions as well as short-term emergency relief.
VERB + RELIEF▪ give sb, provide (sb with), send (sb)▪The organization provides emergency famine relief.
RELIEF + NOUN▪ work▪She said that the fighting has halted almost all relief work in the area.
▪ effort, operation▪There was a huge international relief effort to bring help to the stricken area.
▪ package, programme/program▪Congress has agreed an $11 million relief package for victims of the hurricane.
▪ aid, supplies▪ agency, fund, organization▪ worker▪ convoy, flight3 reduction in the amount of tax, etc. you have to payADJECTIVE▪ debt, interest (BrE), tax▪the abolition of mortgage interest relief
VERB + RELIEF▪ get, obtain, receive▪You can get income tax relief for gifts to charity. (BrE)
▪ grant▪ be entitled to, qualify for▪ apply for, claim, seek (all esp. BrE)RELIEF + VERB▪ be available▪No tax relief is available in respect of this loss.
4 sth interesting that replaces sth boringADJECTIVE▪ light▪ comicVERB + RELIEF▪ give (sb), provide (sb with)▪The scene provided some comic relief for the audience.
PREPOSITION▪ for relief▪The comical characters are brought into the story for a little light relief.
PHRASES▪ a moment of relief5 way of decorating wood, stone, etc.ADJECTIVE▪ high▪The scene has been carved in high relief.
▪ bas, low▪ carved▪ bronze, marble, plaster, etc.▪ classical, Greek, Roman, etc.VERB + RELIEF▪ carve (sth) inRELIEF + NOUN▪ carving, sculpture▪ panelPREPOSITION▪ in relief▪a sculpture in high relief
6 making sth noticeableADJECTIVE▪ bold, sharp, starkVERB + RELIEF▪ bring sth into, throw sth into (often figurative)▪The proximity of the wealthy suburb to the squatter camp throws the plight of the squatters into even sharper relief.
▪ stand out in▪The snow-capped mountains stood out in sharp relief against the blue sky.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
