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palliate

pal·li·ate

palliate

 
pronunciation:
pae li eIt
part of speech: transitive verb
inflections: palliates, palliating, palliated
definition 1: to lessen the effect of; make less severe, esp. without curing.
Her pain was palliated by her father's sympathy.
synonyms:
allay, alleviate, assuage, mitigate, relieve
similar words:
appease, blunt, buff, buffer, dull, ease, moderate, soothe, temper
definition 2: to try to cause (an offense) to seem less severe, as by apologies or excuses.
He palliated his crime by pleading ignorance of the law.
synonyms:
extenuate
similar words:
excuse, gloss, minimize, mitigate, rationalize, temper, tone down
derivations: palliation (n.), palliator (n.)