Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Origin: meliorate 'to ameliorate' (16-20 centuries), from Late Latin, past participle of meliorare, from Latin melior 'better'

ameliorate

 verb
     
a‧me‧li‧o‧rate [transitive]
formal to make a bad situation better or less harmful [= improve]:
It is not clear what can be done to ameliorate the situation.
—amelioration noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary