Palliation
pal·li·ate (p
l
-
t
)
tr.v. pal·li·at·ed, pal·li·at·ing, pal·li·ates
1. To make (an offense or crime) seem less serious; extenuate.
2. To make less severe or intense; mitigate: tried unsuccessfully to palliate the widespread discontent.
3. To relieve the symptoms of a disease or disorder.
[Middle English palliaten, from Late Latin pallire, pallit-, to cloak, palliate, from Latin pallium, cloak.]
palli·ation n.
palli·ator n.
Synonyms: palliate, extenuate, gloss1, gloze, whitewash
These verbs mean to cause a fault or offense to seem less grave or less reprehensible: palliate a crime; couldn’t extenuate the malfeasance; glossing over an unethical transaction; glozing sins and iniquities; whitewashed official complicity in political extortion. See Also Synonyms at relieve.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| Noun | 1. | palliation – easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing the cause
alleviation, easement, easing, relief – the act of reducing something unpleasant (as pain or annoyance); “he asked the nurse for relief from the constant pain”
|
| 2. | palliation – to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
