Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

relief noun

¹ removal of anxiety/pain

ADJ. considerable, deep, enormous, great, huge, immense, intense, overwhelming, tremendous | certain The news of his appointment was received with a certain relief by most people. | sheer | complete | temporary The drugs only provided temporary relief from the pain. | fast, immediate, instant | evident, obvious She smiled with evident relief. | blessed, welcome | pain The injection gives complete pain relief.

VERB + RELIEF bring (sb), give (sb), offer (sb), provide (sb with) Morning brought no relief from the heat. | come as The news came as a welcome relief to Brian. | seek She sought relief in drink. | find, get He found relief from his fears in a world of fantasy and art. | experience, feel I felt enormous relief once they phoned. | sense She could sense his relief when she said she wouldn't be leaving. | express

RELIEF + VERB come He believes that relief only comes from helping others with their suffering. | flood Relief flooded through me as the aeroplane landed safely.

PREP. in ~ She smiled in relief. | out of ~ He hugged her out of sheer relief. | to your ~ To my great relief, she didn't notice that anything was wrong. | with ~ He sighed with relief. | ~ at relief at not having been made a fool of | ~ from relief from hunger | ~ to The news was a huge relief to her.

PHRASES a cry/a sigh/tears of relief He breathed a sigh of relief. | a sense/wave of relief

² food/money/medicine given to people in need

ADJ. humanitarian | emergency | famine, flood | foreign, international

VERB + RELIEF give sb, provide (sb with), send (sb) The organization provides emergency famine relief.

RELIEF + NOUN work She said that the fighting has halted almost all relief work in the area. | effort, operation There was a huge international relief effort to bring help to the stricken area. | package, programme Congress has agreed an $11 million relief package for victims of the hurricane. | aid, supplies | agency, fund, organization | staff, worker | convoy, flight

³ reduction in the amount of tax, etc. you have to pay

ADJ. debt, interest, mortgage, tax

VERB + RELIEF get, obtain, receive You get mortgage relief of 10% on the next £5,000. | be entitled to, qualify for | apply for, claim, seek

RELIEF + VERB be available No tax relief is available in respect of this loss.

⁴ sth interesting that replaces sth boring

ADJ. light | comic

VERB + RELIEF give (sb), provide (sb with) The scene provided some comic relief for the audience.

PREP. for ~ The comical characters are brought into the story for a little light relief.

PHRASES a moment of relief

⁵ way of decorating wood, stone, etc.

ADJ. high The scene has been carved in high relief. | bas, low | carved, sculptured | alabaster, bronze, marble, plaster, stucco | classical, Greek, Roman

VERB + RELIEF carve (sth) in

RELIEF + NOUN carving, sculpture | panel

PREP. in ~ a sculpture in high relief

⁶ making sth noticeable

ADJ. sharp, stark

VERB + RELIEF bring sth into, throw sth into (often figurative) The proximity of the wealthy suburb to the squatter camp throws the plight of the squatters into even sharper relief. | stand out in The snow-capped mountains stood out in sharp relief against the blue sky.