palliative

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palliative

/ˈpælɪətɪv/ UK
/ˈpælieɪtɪv/ US
/ˈpæliətɪv/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle French palliatif, from New Latin *palliātīvus, from Medieval Latin palliō (“to cloak”), from Latin pallium (“a cloak”).

adjective more palliative · most palliative

Serving to palliate; serving to extenuate or mitigate.
Minimising the progression of a disease and relieving undesirable symptoms for as long as possible, rather than attempting to cure the (usually incurable) disease.

noun palliatives

Something that palliates, particularly a palliative medicine. The radiation and chemotherapy were only palliatives.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: alleviative, mitigative, alleviatory, mitigatory, lenitive, moderating, mitigating, alleviation, mitigation, relief, comforting, consolation, comfort, tranquillity, tranquility, end-of-life

Translations

Every language

adj reducing progression and relieving symptoms

Español	paliativo
한국어	완화 wanhwa
日本語	一時的に緩和する ichijiteki ni kanwa suru
中文	緩和的 /缓和的 huǎnhé de, 姑息的 gūxī de, gūxí de
Português	paliativo
Français	palliatif
Deutsch	palliativ, beschönigend, lindernd
Italiano	palliativo
Ελληνικά	καταπραϋντικός katapraÿntikós
Русский	паллиати́вный palliatívnyj
العربية	مُلَطِّف mulaṭṭif, مُخَفِّف muḵaffif, مُسَكِّن musakkin, تَلْطِيفِيّ talṭīfiyy
עברית	מקל makel

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MLA

"palliative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/palliative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

palliative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/palliative

Chicago

"palliative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/palliative.

BibTeX

@misc{palliative_2026,
  title = {palliative},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/palliative},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}