Word: alleviate (verb)

Associations

"Alleviate" means to make something less severe or easier to bear, especially pain, problems, or difficulties.

• She took medicine to alleviate her headache. (Making pain less strong)
• The government tried to alleviate poverty by creating jobs. (Reducing a serious problem)
• Talking to a friend can alleviate stress. (Making a feeling less bad)

A similar word is "relieve." Both mean to reduce something bad, but "relieve" often focuses on removing pain or pressure completely, while "alleviate" means to make it less bad but not always gone.

Substitution

You can use:

• reduce (makes something smaller or less)
• ease (makes something less difficult or painful)
• lessen (makes something less strong) Example: "Alleviate pain" can be "ease pain" or "reduce pain."

Deconstruction

• Prefix: "al-" here is part of the whole word, not a separate prefix.
• Root: "levi" comes from Latin "levis" meaning "light" (not heavy).
• Suffix: "-ate" turns the root into a verb (to do something).

So, "alleviate" means "to make lighter" or "to lighten" a burden or problem.

Inquiry

• What problems or feelings in your life would you want to alleviate?
• Can you think of a time when something you did helped alleviate someone’s pain or worry?
• How is "alleviate" different from "solve"? Can you alleviate a problem without solving it?