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Glite Dictionary
😌 To reduce anxiety 🔧 To reduce force
to relieve stress

to relieve stress

5 3.5
To make you feel less tense or worried
  • phrasal verb
  • /rɪˈliv strɛs/
translation icon : aliviar el estrés
  • So I think for me, by far the biggest thing I do to relieve stress is exercise.
  • help relieve stress
  • way to relieve stress
  • relieve stress and anxiety

And gardens are meant to relieve stress, not create more of it.

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Examples

  • It relieves stress and promotes feel-good hormones.

    Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

  • You've provided an excellent method to relieve stress and anxiety.

    Blog text (21)

  • Now these guys, they just do this to relieve stress.

    Ballbuster (2020)

  • On the positive side, there are natural ways to help you relieve stress.

    Blog text (4)

  • What are some things that you do to help relieve stress?

    Blog text (15)

  • And gardens are meant to relieve stress, not create more of it.

    MIgardener

  • For me, it's not just a way to be more active; it also relieves stress and can instantly put me in a better mood.

    Blog text (34)

  • The class puts you into a state of active meditation in which you relieve stress and become stress-free.

    Blog text (26)

  • Harmonious music has been documented to alter blood pressure, relieve stress, and anxiety.

    Blog text (6)

  • Many people find that yoga can greatly relieve stress and improve their overall mental health.

Synonyms

to relax
vsto relieve stress
∞ 1.0

To feel less nervous and more calm

reduces mental tension but without implying rest or inactivity
to relieve
vsto relieve stress
166 2.3

Make pain, stress, or worry less

focuses specifically on reducing mental tension and anxiety
to alleviate
vsto relieve stress
76 5.3

To make pain, suffering, or a problem less strong

focuses on reducing mental tension rather than general physical suffering
to soothe
vsto relieve stress
63 3.4

To make someone feel calmer or reduce their pain

reduces mental tension more broadly rather than only easing upset or pain
to decompress
vsto relieve stress
  • Informal
11 4.2

Relax and become less tense after work or stress

reduces mental tension generally rather than after a specific activity
to manage stress
vsto relieve stress
3 3.2

To use activities like exercise or talking to someone that reduce stress and help you feel calmer

aims to reduce mental tension directly rather than control effects over time
to defuse tension
vsto relieve stress
2 4.5

To make a situation less tense by calming people

reduces personal mental pressure, not only interpersonal hostility or conflict risk
to unstress
vsto relieve stress
4.8

Make someone feel less worried or tense

means the same but uses a different word form
to lighten tensions
vsto relieve stress
4.1

Make a tense situation calmer

targets internal mental tension rather than easing only social or situational strain

Antonyms

to stress
286 2.7

To feel pressure and worry because of difficult situations

How Relaxed

to relieve stress
5 3.5
to relax
∞ 1.0
to distract
513 2.1

Surface Forms

relieve stress infinitive
relieved stress past
relieved stress past participle
relieving stress present participle
relieves stress third person singular

Morphology

relieve + stress

The verb 'relieve' clearly means 'to reduce' and 'stress' can denote pressure/tension, so the phrase literally means to reduce stress and is compositionally predictable in general use. However, the cited meaning is a specialized technical sense (internal mechanical stress in materials) that learners who only know psychological 'stress' may not recognize, making the expression only partly transparent.

Etymology

Relieve stress comes from the image of lifting a heavy load off a person's shoulders. To relieve is to remove a weight and stress is the pressure or worry we feel, so removing the weight is like removing the worry, meaning 'to reduce mental pressure'.