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
  • Not that Miss Manners is excusing those who burst into dinner parties after the roast has been ruined — along with the other guests’ attitudes, most likely — and then blame it on traffic.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 28 July 2026
  • Part of that is the team’s fault, as Boone and Cashman have spent much of his career staunchly defending and excusing the former first-round pick’s poor play.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 July 2026
Definition of excusing
Verb
  • Europe’s efforts are for now too modest, too regulated, too fragmented, and too focused on alleviating government restrictions rather than promoting commercial use to fundamentally change dependencies that have accumulated over decades.
    — Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In 2021, in hopes of alleviating economic pressures during the pandemic, Congress passed legislation eliminating premiums for people with the lowest incomes and reduced the cost for people with higher incomes.
    — Robert Applebaum, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of alleviating
Verb
  • That is why parents, and moms in particular, who historically have taken on most of the child care work and labor in the home—have trouble justifying rest.
    — Parents, Parents, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Former grand mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun, an Assad loyalist who was vocally in support of the government's policies, was convicted of inciting violence and justifying murder.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of justifying
Verb
  • Party leaders laid out proposals for relieving poverty, improving social security, and reforming the education system and admitted members from backgrounds unusual for the CHP, including a Kurdish activist and a union leader.
    — Nick TaborAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Pressure-relieving foam sits atop a section of supportive microcoils with a durable foam border and adjustable responsive air chambers, ensuring a personalized balance of comfort and stability.
    — V BRAND STORIES, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of relieving
Verb
  • Before explaining what the technology can do, understand what the customer is trying to accomplish.
    — William Arruda, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • In the Situational Awareness fund move, Griffin sent investors a letter explaining Citadel’s stock actions with the AI company.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of explaining
Verb
  • The health care company could develop Keytuda co-formulations that would extend the tail of the brand-name drug's franchise, mitigating the impact of that patent expiration, according to the analyst.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Later this year, eSafety will release a transparency report detailing how successful online gaming services like Roblox have been at mitigating harms to kids.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 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
  • Their first seven runs came off the lefty’s heater, helping the Cubs build a 9-0 advantage through four innings.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Here’s a look at how policy changes and protocol changes in high school football are helping make the sport safer.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 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.

Browse Nearby Words

palliates
palliating
palliation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Palliating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/palliating. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All