Re*lief"less, a. Destitute of relief; also, remediless.
Re*li"er (r?-l?"?r), n. [From Rely.] One who relies.
Re*liev"a*ble (r?-l?v"?-b'l), a. Capable of being relieved; fitted to
recieve relief. Sir M. Hale.
Re*lieve" (r?-l?v"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Relieved (-l?vd"); p. pr. &
vb. n. Relieving.] [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge,
relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref.
re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis light. See Levity, and cf.
Relevant, Relief.] 1. To lift up; to raise again, as one who has
fallen; to cause to rise. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
2. To cause to seem to rise; to put in relief; to give prominence or
conspicuousness to; to set off by contrast.
Her tall figure relieved against the blue sky; seemed almost of
supernatural height.
Sir W. Scott.
3. To raise up something in; to introduce a contrast or variety into;
to remove the monotony or sameness of.
The poet must . . . sometimes relieve the subject with a moral
reflection.
Addison.
4. To raise or remove, as anything which depresses, weighs down, or
crushes; to render less burdensome or afflicting; to alleviate; to
abate; to mitigate; to lessen; as, to relieve pain; to relieve the
wants of the poor.
5. To free, wholly or partly, from any burden, trial, evil, distress,
or the like; to give ease, comfort, or consolation to; to give aid,
help, or succor to; to support, strengthen, or deliver; as, to relieve
a besieged town.
Now lend assistance and relieve the poor.
Dryden.
6. To release from a post, station, or duty; to put another in place
of, or to take the place of, in the bearing of any burden, or discharge
of any duty.
Who hath relieved you?
Shak.
7. To ease of any imposition, burden, wrong, or oppression, by judicial
or legislative interposition, as by the removal of a grievance, by
indemnification for losses, or the like; to right.
Syn. -- To alleviate; assuage; succor; assist; aid; help; support;
substain; ease; mitigate; lighten; diminish; remove; free; remedy;
redress; indemnify.
Re*lieve"ment (-ment), n. The act of relieving, or the state of being
relieved; relief; release. [Archaic.]
Re*liev"er (-?r), n. One who, or that which, relieves.
Re*liev"ing, a. Serving or tending to relieve.
Relieving arch (Arch.), a discharging arch. See under Discharge, v. t.
-- Relieving tackle. (Naut.) (a) A temporary tackle attached to the
tiller of a vessel during gales or an action, in case of accident to
the tiller ropes. (b) A strong tackle from a wharf to a careened
vessel, to prevent her from going over entirely, and to assist in
righting her. Totten. Craig.
Re*lie"vo (r?-l?"v?), n. [It. rilievo.] See Relief, n., 5.
Re*light" (r?-l?t"), v. t. To light or kindle anew.
{ ||Re*li`gi`euse" (re-l?`zh?`?z"), n. f. ||Re*li`gi`eux"
(re-l?`zh?`?"), n. m. } [F.] A person bound by monastic vows; a nun; a
monk.
Re*li"gion (r*lj"n), n. [F., from L. religio; cf. religens pious,
revering the gods, Gr. 'ale`gein to heed, have a care. Cf. Neglect.] 1.
The outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the
existence of a god or of gods having power over their destiny, to whom
obedience, service, and honor are due; the feeling or expression of
human love, fear, or awe of some superhuman and overruling power,
whether by profession of belief, by observance of rites and ceremonies,
or by the conduct of life; a system of faith and worship; a
manifestation of piety; as, ethical religions; monotheistic religions;
natural religion; revealed religion; the religion of the Jews; the
religion of idol worshipers.
An orderly life so far as others are able to observe us is now and
then produced by prudential motives or by dint of habit; but
without seriousness there can be no religious principle at the
bottom, no course of conduct from religious motives; in a word,
there can be no religion.
Paley.
Religion [was] not, as too often now, used as equivalent for
godliness; but . . . it expressed the outer form and embodiment
which the inward spirit of a true or a false devotion assumed.
Trench.
Religions, by which are meant the modes of divine worship proper to
different tribes, nations, or communities, and based on the belief
held in common by the members of them severally. . . . There is no
living religion without something like a doctrine. On the other
hand, a doctrine, however elaborate, does not constitute a
religion.