ameliorate
Usage
What are other ways to say ameliorate?
The formal word ameliorate implies improving oppressive, unjust, or difficult conditions: to ameliorate working conditions. Improve usually implies remedying a lack or a felt need: to improve a process, oneself (as by gaining more knowledge). To better is to improve conditions which, though not bad, are unsatisfying: to better an attempt, oneself (as by gaining a higher salary).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Exercising for two hours a day can partially ameliorate this issue, but it doesn’t prevent the problem entirely.
From Slate • Mar. 1, 2026
It suggests something more uncomfortable: that how protests are conducted determines whether they clarify and ameliorate injustice or obscure and perpetuate it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
According to state projections, the average amount of water delivered from the Delta to Southern California could decrease by between 13% and 23% within two decades unless measures are taken to ameliorate those declines.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025
The mandatory two-stop has been arrived at as a necessary evil - introducing an element of artificiality to ameliorate a specific problem.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2025
No matter how sedulously Ben and Mary Anne prepared for the nightmare, nothing could ameliorate their discomfort at entering a new high school for their annual pilgrimage among strangers.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Vocabulary lists containing ameliorate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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The Crucible
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Frankenstein
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