meliorate en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈmiːli.əɹeɪt/
Etymology
First attested in 1542; borrowed from Late Latin meliorātus, perfect passive participle of meliorō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from melior (“better”).
Meanings
-
(transitive) To make better; to improve; to solve a problem.
They offered some compromises in an effort to meliorate the disagreement.
June 8, 1783, George Washington, Circular to the States […] and the pure and benign light of revelation have had a meliorating influence on mankind.
Nature by art we nobly meliorate.
1648, John Denham, Cato Major:
- (intransitive) To become better.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| meliorating | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| meliorated | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| meliorated | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| meliorates | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Deriveds
meliorative · meliorable · meliorater · meliorator · melioration
Relateds
Synonyms
meliorate · reason out · unriddle · tease out · get better · better · sleuth · aprimorate (non-native speakers’ English (chiefly Portuguese)) · riddle · upsolve · work out · absolve · work out · amend · amend · think out · decipher · resolve · look up · refine · improve · batten · enhance · unsolve · solve · heal · unravel · resolve · puzzle out · meliorate · hone · age like a fine wine · get to the bottom of · ameliorate · ameliorate · refine · Any from Thesaurus:untangle · ravel · unpuzzle · improve · iron out