Meaning & use
relief sigh
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Meaning
nouncountable
A long, audible breath you let out when worry or tension suddenly goes away.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a relief sigh' or 'relief sighs'; the more formal phrase is 'a sigh of relief'.
Patterns
- give a relief sigh
- let out a relief sigh
- with a relief sigh
When the doctor said the test was clear, she gave a relief sigh and sat down.
He let out a relief sigh as the last exam paper was collected.
There was a collective relief sigh in the room when the storm passed.
Word forms
| plural | relief sighs |
|---|
Common combinations
- a huge relief sigh
- The whole team gave a huge relief sigh when the deal was signed.
- let out a relief sigh
- She let out a relief sigh after finishing the speech.
- a collective relief sigh
- There was a collective relief sigh when the plane landed safely.
- a quiet relief sigh
- He gave a quiet relief sigh so no one would notice.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sigh of relief
- The standard fixed phrase; it sounds slightly more formal and is more common in writing than 'relief sigh'.
- exhale
- A neutral verb for breathing out; it does not include the idea of tension leaving.
Word family
Commonly confused: relief sigh or relief?
relief sigh vs relief
'Relief' is the feeling; 'relief sigh' is the action of breathing out that shows the feeling.
Practice
After the final whistle, the players gave a ______ sigh.
Choose one answer.
'Relief sigh' is the fixed noun compound, so the noun 'relief' is correct. 'Relieved' is an adjective and would need a different structure, e.g. 'a relieved sigh' is possible but less standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “relief sigh”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.