Words / C2

uh-MEEL-ee-uh-rayt/əˈmiːliəreɪt/

Ameliorate is a formal verb for making a bad situation better: ameliorate conditions, ameliorate poverty. Alleviate is the usual partner for pain or symptoms; improve is the everyday cousin. You do not ameliorate a person. Amelioration is the noun.

Meaning

To make a bad situation better (formal); you ameliorate conditions, whereas you alleviate pain.

Examples

• “Better lighting ameliorated the gloom of the old classroom.”
• “The grant did little to ameliorate overcrowding in the halls.”
• “Better drainage would ameliorate flooding after storms.”

Good to know

ameliorate a situation/conditions (formal). Pain: alleviate. Everyday: improve.

Near in meaning

improve

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