Visually impaired people attend a salsa dance class in Cali, Colombia, on August 13, 2017, during the eighth version of the "Tifloencuentro". 69 people with visual impairment from eight countries of Latin America and Europe take part in the "Tifloencuentro", a tourism event in which blind and people with low vision meet in a cultural exchange of life experiences.
LUIS ROBAYO / AFP

获得2017年拉丁美洲与加勒比海地区最佳室内设计（Best Interiors of Latin America and the Caribbean）奖的墨西哥Colonia Roma区旅店「Ignacia Guest House」，由建筑事务所Factor Eficiencia与室内设计师Andrés Gutiérrez旗下团队A-G合作，将1913年的历史豪邸重新整理改造而成，保留原有气质且置入当代文化元素，成就这家兼具热带风味与设计品味的旅店。 Photo by A-G

Daily Vocabulary 2017-08-21

Alleviate

Verb | uh-Lee-Vi-ate

Defition:

1) To lighten, lessen, relieve. to make the bad condition (such as sickness feeling) more bearable.
2) to partially correct or remove something undesirable.

Note:

Alleviate derives from the past participle of Late Latin alleviare ("to lighten or relieve"), which in turn was formed by combining the prefix ad- and the adjective levis, a Latin word meaning "having little weight," which also gave rise to the adjective light (as in "not heavy") in English.

Personal note:

Normally, I would use "decrease" or "reduce" for this use. However, today, "alleviate" helps me broaden my vocabulary with "Lessen", "lighten" and "relieve" that are much easier to be remembered than "alleviate". What's more, I don't really think "alleviate" will "alleviate" people's misunderstanding if I use this word. lol