re‧lief S2 W2 / rɪlif / 名词
1 comfort [单数形式，不可数] a feeling of comfort when something frightening, worrying, or painful has ended or has not happened → relieve :
I felt a huge surge of relief and happiness.
with relief
He watched with relief as the girl nodded.
in relief
He laughed in relief.
No one was hurt, and we all breathed a sigh of relief .
it is a relief to see/have/know etc something
I hate to say it, but it was a relief to have him out of the house.
to sb’s relief
To my relief, they spoke English.
what a relief/that’s a relief
The doctor said it was just the flu. What a relief!
2 reduction of pain [不可数名词] when something reduces someone’s pain or unhappy feelings :
Marijuana can provide pain relief for some cancer patients.
relief of
the relief of suffering
relief from
The cool room provided relief from the terrible heat outdoors.
3 help [不可数名词] money, food, clothes etc given to people who are poor or hungry :
money raised for the relief effort
disaster/famine/flood etc relief
famine relief for victims of the drought
4 replacement [不可数名词] a person or group of people that replaces another one and does their work after they have finished :
the relief for the military guard
a relief driver
5 decoration [可数和不可数名词] a way of decorating wood, stone etc with a shape or figure that is raised above the surface, or the decoration itself → bas relief
in relief
figures carved in relief
6 bring/throw something into relief ( also stand out in relief ) to make something very noticeable, or to be very noticeable
sharp/stark relief
The tree stood out in stark relief against the snow.
The article throws into sharp relief the differences between the two theories.
7 light/comic relief a funny moment during a serious film, book, or situation :
a moment of comic relief
8 money [不可数名词] old-fashioned especially American English money given by the government to help people who are poor, old, unemployed etc 同义词 welfare
on relief
families on relief during the Depression
9 war [不可数名词] formal the act of freeing a town when it has been surrounded by an enemy
relief of
the relief of Mafeking
10 map in relief if you show a part of the Earth’s surface in relief, you show the differences in height between different parts of it
→ tax relief
COLLOCATIONS
形容词
a great/enormous/tremendous etc relief It was a great relief to him when she returned safely.
a welcome relief The holiday was a welcome relief from the pressure of work.
动词
come as a relief The court’s decision came as a huge relief to Microsoft.
feel relief I felt nothing but relief when it was over.
relief floods through somebody literary When she heard he was still alive, relief flooded through her.
短语
a sense/feeling of relief She was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief.
breathe/heave a sigh of relief United fans breathed a huge sigh of relief as Drogba’s shot was tipped over the bar.
what a relief What a relief to be able to say what I really feel!
such a relief It’s just such a relief to have found someone!
COLLOCATIONS
NOUN + relief
disaster/emergency relief Our objective is to provide food aid and emergency relief to developing countries.
famine/flood relief We donated $1,000 to the American Red Cross for flood relief.
relief + NOUN
a relief agency/organization Relief agencies reported that many of the refugees had arrived in a terrible condition.
relief supplies/aid US troops had helped distribute relief supplies to Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq.
relief efforts In areas severely affected by the earthquake, it is difficult to coordinate relief efforts.
a relief operation UN officials accused the government of obstructing relief operations in the south of the country.
a relief worker The relief workers have to bring in clean drinking water by tanker.
relief work The charity raised over five million pounds for relief work.
a relief convoy/flight A relief convoy of 10 trucks set off with food and medical supplies.