ameliorate
Usage
What are other ways to say ameliorate?
The formal word ameliorate implies improving oppressive, unjust, or difficult conditions: to ameliorate working conditions. Improve usually implies remedying a lack or a felt need: to improve a process, oneself (as by gaining more knowledge). To better is to improve conditions which, though not bad, are unsatisfying: to better an attempt, oneself (as by gaining a higher salary).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His doctors managed to ameliorate the flaw with insoles, but not the pain.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
The biggest risks to birds come from the climate: “Two-thirds of North American birds are at increasing risk of extinction from global temperature rise,” the society reported — a threat that wind power can ameliorate.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
Ideally, Owens and Erika Kirk could find alignment, and ameliorate some of Owens’ more looney ideas.
From Slate • Dec. 22, 2025
Some legislation has been proposed to ameliorate the concerns, or at least lay the legal groundwork for an unconventional quick-turn census.
From Salon • Aug. 15, 2025
The accused have told me and their counsel have told me that the accused who were all leaders of the non-European population were motivated entirely by a desire to ameliorate these grievances.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Vocabulary lists containing ameliorate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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The Crucible
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Frankenstein
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