ameliorate

verb

ame·​lio·​rate ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)
-ˈmē-lē-ə-
ameliorated; ameliorating

transitive verb

: to make better or more tolerable
medicine to ameliorate the pain

intransitive verb

: to grow better
amelioration noun
ameliorative
ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrā-tiv How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)
-ˈmē-lē-ə-
adjective
ameliorator noun
amelioratory adjective

Did you know?

Ameliorate traces back to melior, a Latin adjective meaning "better," and is a rather formal synonym of the verbs better and improve. When is it better to use ameliorate? Allow us to improve your understanding: if a situation is bad, ameliorate indicates that the conditions have been made more tolerable. Thus, one might refer to medicine that ameliorates pain from an injury, a loss of wages ameliorated by unemployment benefits, or a harsh law ameliorated by special exceptions. Improve and better apply when something bad is getting better or being made better (as in "the weather improved" or "she bettered her lot in life"), and they should always be chosen over ameliorate when something good is getting better still ("he improved his successful program," "she bettered her impressive scores").

Choose the Right Synonym for ameliorate

improve, better, help, ameliorate mean to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard.

improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad.

measures to further improve the quality of medical care
immigrants hoping to better their lot

help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement.

a coat of paint would help that house

ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure.

tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements

Examples of ameliorate in a Sentence

The disparate impact of the risk imposed by the "loser pays" rule can be ameliorated. Indeed, there are features of the British legal system which have led some observers to find the rule … to be considerably more benign to poorer litigants. Edward F. Sherman, Texas Law Review, June 1998
And, after all, some illnesses are psychogenic. Many can be at least ameliorated by a positive cast of mind. Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World, 1996
trying to ameliorate the suffering of people who have lost their jobs This medicine should help ameliorate the pain.
Recent Examples on the Web The company continues to offer discounts to help ameliorate some of the downturn. Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 Sadly there aren't many practical steps that Mozilla (or Ars) can provide to ameliorate this situation. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 6 Sep. 2023 In 2017, when a $1.5-billion fund was set up to ameliorate the catastrophic damage from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Don was named to the board that decided how to direct the money. Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 Atlanta is also projected to have roughly $30 million in cap space to ameliorate other areas. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2024 National Security, Not Election-Year Politics A simple question: If Congress can ameliorate the border crisis by tightening up the removal process, toughening asylum standards, and increasing detention resources, why not just do that? Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024 Any effort on the employer’s part to ameliorate these forces would undoubtedly be popular. Jane Thier, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2024 For example, the application of just a bit of gravity may ameliorate many of these problems. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 17 July 2023 That said, Slow Horses’s willingness to kill off characters and traffic in ticking time bomb tension does partly ameliorate that structural weakness. J. Oliver Conroy, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ameliorate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

alteration of meliorate — see meliorate

First Known Use

1656, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of ameliorate was in 1656

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Dictionary Entries Near ameliorate

Cite this Entry

“Ameliorate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ameliorate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ameliorate

verb
ame·​lio·​rate ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)
ameliorated; ameliorating
: to make or grow better or more tolerable
amelioration
-ˌmēl-yə-ˈrā-shən How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)
-ˌmē-lē-ə-
noun
ameliorative
-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt-iv How to pronounce ameliorate (audio)
-ˈmē-lē-ə-
adjective

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