What does ameliorate mean?
Word: Ameliorate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Ameliorate means to make a bad or difficult situation less harsh or more bearable.
Synonyms: alleviate, mitigate
Antonyms: aggravate, deteriorate
How do you spell ameliorate?
Syllables: a - me - li - o - rate
Tricky part: Students often swap the e and the i, or leave one of the vowels out. The m and the l are single.
Watch out for: ameleorate, ammeliorate, amiliorate
Memory tip: Before rate, the vowels run in alphabet order: a, e, i, o. So a-m-e-l-i-o, then rate.
Ameliorate in a sentence
Example 1: The new water pipeline should ameliorate the shortage in the village.
Example 2: Planting trees along the highway can help ameliorate the dust and noise.
Example 3: The doctor gave Grandpa medicine to ameliorate the pain in his knee.
Fun Fact
Ameliorate comes from Latin melior, better. Meliorism is the belief that people can make the world better by their own efforts.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word ameliorate as used in the sentence:
The government hopes the new flyover will ameliorate traffic jams near the market.
a) ease
b) improve
c) worsen
d) relieve
Show answer
c) worsen. To worsen is to make things worse, the exact reverse of ameliorate, while improve, ease and relieve all make things better.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The new water tank in the hill village should help to ameliorate the shortage that so many familys face every summer.
a) village
b) familys
c) ameliorate
d) shortage
Show answer
b) familys. Family ends in a consonant plus y, so its plural is families.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Better drains will help to raaeoltime flooding in the low-lying colonies.
a) moderate
b) deteriorate
c) alleviate
d) ameliorate
Show answer
d) ameliorate. Alleviate needs two l's and a v, and deteriorate a d; these ten letters spell ameliorate.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. negligance 2. perseverence 3. ameliorate 4. tenatious
a) holding on firmly; refusing to give up
b) to make a bad situation better
c) failure to take proper care
d) continued effort in spite of difficulties
Show answer
b) to make a bad situation better. Negligance and perseverence have swapped -ence and -ance, a classic mix-up, and tenatious should be tenacious. Ameliorate stands.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which step would ameliorate a drought?
a) measuring the rainfall every day
b) building check dams to store rain
c) moving the weather station
d) writing a report on the drought
Show answer
b) building check dams to store rain
2. Ameliorate is a formal word. Which everyday phrase means the same?
a) make up
b) make sure
c) make over
d) make better
Show answer
d) make better
