Sentence Completion

[Aishwarya.89]

Hi All,

Wanted views on this sentence:

Chicken soup and cough syrup can help ____ the discomfort of a sore throat.

1. ameliorate
2. alleive

My call on it was alleive, which i assume came from 'alleviate' , but when i googled it, i found no matches.

Appreciate any help on this.

Thanks,
Aishwarya

 

[5jj]

It's a mistake. It should be 'alleviate', which is the correct choice.

 

[Aishwarya.89]

But ameliorate means to improve right? So using ameliorate in that context cannot be right ?

 

[5jj]

'alleviate' means 'lessen, make less severe,' and is this the better word for a discomfort, in my opinion.

I am sure that many people would happily use 'ameliorate' in your sentence. Only a purist would object.

 

[birdeen's call]

But ameliorate means to improve right? So using ameliorate in that context cannot be right ?

From Collins Dictionary:

Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate is properly used to mean `improve', not `make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it

 

[5jj]

Ameliorate is often wrongly used where alleviate is meant. Ameliorate is properly used to mean `improve', not `make easier to bear', so one should talk about alleviating pain or hardship, not ameliorating it

It is so often used in this way by people with a little knoweldge of 'correct' meanings, that it has almost become acceptable, in my opinion.