How to pronounce relief
American English pronunciation
rih-LEEF
- IPA
- /ɹɪˈlif/
- Syllables
- rih · LEEF (2 syllables, stress on the 2nd)
Love words? Try a free round: no sign-up, about two minutes. Play free
What relief means
Most people know relief in its everyday sense. Here's its other meaning.
Carving in which shapes stand out from a flat surface
In a sentence: The museum wall showed a stone relief of horses that seemed to gallop right out of the rock.
Where it comes from: This meaning came from Italian rilievo, a raised part, from a Latin word meaning to raise. The ease-after-worry meaning came through French from the same Latin word.
Can you spot the real meaning? Try one
Loading a word…
Can you spot the real meaning? Play Wordfib
One free round, no sign-up. Wordfib shows a word and four meanings: one real, three fibs.