palliating

verb

present participle of palliate
1
as in excusing
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses don't try to palliate your constant lying by claiming that everybody lies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in alleviating
to make more bearable or less severe this medicine should palliate your cough at least a little

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for palliating
  1. excusing
  2. alleviating
  3. justifying
  4. relieving
  5. explaining
  6. mitigating
  7. extenuating
  8. helping
Verb
  • Advertisement Dialogue does not mean abandoning our values, excusing aggression, or accepting injustice.
    — Halla Tómasdóttir, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • This story does not suggest that reconciliation requires forgetting the past or excusing harmful choices.
    — Ascend Agency, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of excusing
Verb
  • These turnovers also set up touchdowns, alleviating the pent-up stress of the first half.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Fostering gives cats a temporary home on the way to adoption, alleviating stress on shelters and, in some instances, saving cats’ lives.
    — Emily Tarinelli, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of alleviating
Verb
  • But Lewis said justifying camera movements through human mannerisms and tics also made the drone the episode’s poignant exhale.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The frontier lab’s figures are seen as key to understanding underlying demand for cutting-edge AI models, as well as justifying the huge global spending on tech infrastructure.
    — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of justifying
Verb
  • The suddenness of it all was terrifying, even paralyzing, and yet, at the same time, oddly relieving.
    — Andrew Lipstein, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Haldea noted that dividend recaps provide liquidity, relieving the pressure to sell without ultimately resolving the valuation gap.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of relieving
Verb
  • The decision was posted on the White House website late in the evening, and the notification noted that the report explaining the decision had been submitted to Congress.
    — Will Weissert, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Kate is once again explaining to Hal something very obvious about his own psyche and routine behavior.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of explaining
Verb
  • Acknowledging the concerns, Warui noted that Dangote Refinery’s revenues were dollarized and that dividends could also be paid in dollars, mitigating the potential impact of naira devaluation.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The judge also weighed mitigating factors, including that Molloy was experiencing difficult personal circumstances, stopped of his own volition and had shown genuine remorse.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of mitigating
Verb
  • Other extenuating circumstances beyond Goodman’s control also might be contributing to his reputation within the industry as a subpar defender.
    — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • But, generally, only one property can be claimed, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
    — Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 June 2026
Definition of extenuating
Verb
  • Ocean iron fertilization grew from the idea that iron-rich dust blown across the oceans during past ice ages fed blooms of phytoplankton, helping to lower atmospheric CO₂.
    — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Ohio isn’t just helping children leave struggling public schools.
    — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of helping
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Palliating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palliating. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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