palliative

4 definitions • 8 examples

(of a drug or medical treatment) reducing pain without curing the cause of the pain:

Older people facing a terminal illness may want to choose palliative care only.

The success of chemotherapy as a form of palliative treatment depends on the type of tumour.

making a problem seem less serious but not solving the problem or making it disappear:

Short-term, palliative measures were taken which gave the appearance that the problems were being addressed.

Some of the palliative strategies do not make sense.

a drug or medical treatment that reduces pain without curing the cause of the pain:

Most of the AIDS research community were either working on vaccines for prevention or on stronger palliatives.

The substance has been consumed as a palliative by indigenous groups in Appalachia.

something that makes a problem seem less serious but does not solve the problem or make it disappear:

We want long-term solutions, not short-term palliatives.

Knitting became a palliative for Mary as the long miserable days stretched out ahead.