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say it: ri-LEEF
relief is a noun meaning "the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced". It is pronounced /ɹɪˈlif/ — ri-LEEF. It carries 11 recorded senses.
the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed or reduced
“as he heard the news he was suddenly flooded with relief”
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”
(law) redress awarded by a court
“was the relief supposed to be protection from future harm or compensation for past injury?”
law
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”
assistance in time of difficulty
“the contributions provided some relief for the victims”
a pause for relaxation
“people actually accomplish more when they take time for short rests”
a change for the better
aid for the aged or indigent or handicapped
“he has been on relief for many years”
the act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance)
“he asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain”
sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding background
the act of freeing a city or town that has been besieged
“he asked for troops for the relief of Atlanta”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for relief come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.