Meaning & use

ameliorate

verb·Advanced

To make a harmful or difficult situation better.

See it in a sentence

The extra bus service should ameliorate crowding during the morning rush.

Volunteers planted shade trees to ameliorate conditions in the bare playground.

A note on using this word

Ameliorate is formal and usually takes an unfavorable condition as its object. It describes improvement without necessarily promising a complete solution.

Words with a similar meaning

improvealleviateease

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

worsenaggravate

Make it your own

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