Synonyms of ameliorate

ameliorate

verb

ə-ˈmēl-yə-ˌrāt 

as in to improve

to make better

social legislation that must be given credit for ameliorating the lot of millions of deprived people

Synonyms & Similar Words

• improve
• enhance
• remedy
• remediate
• better
• help
• enrich
• refine
• amend
• upgrade
• perfect
• meliorate
• reinforce
• rectify
• intensify
• strengthen
• correct
• rehabilitate
• reform
• revise
• refurbish
• fine-tune
• fortify
• boost
• reenforce
• rework
• edit
• emend
• revamp
• fine
• polish
• hone
• beef (up)
• redraft
• rehab
• retouch
• touch up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• worsen
• impair
• harm
• hurt
• damage
• injure
• reduce
• vitiate
• tarnish
• spoil
• diminish
• lessen
• flaw
• blight
• disfigure
• mar
• deface
• lower
• endamage
• blemish

Synonym Chooser

How is the word ameliorate distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of ameliorate are better, help, and improve. While all these words mean "to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard," ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure.

tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements

When is help a more appropriate choice than ameliorate?

The meanings of help and ameliorate largely overlap; however, help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement.

a coat of paint would help that house

How are the words improve and better related as synonyms of ameliorate?

Both improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad.

measures to further improve the quality of medical care

immigrants hoping to better their lot

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ameliorate

Of course, with so many personnel across the agency already gone, some damage can’t be undone, but it will be greatly ameliorated. —Mike Hirschberg, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

My silence felt like cowardice, stemming from a fear of alienation, of feeling unsafe—exactly what the ADL, unironically, pledges to ameliorate in school settings. —Sahar Mustafah august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025

Conservatives and libertarians rightly endorse robust private charitable activity so that private citizens, acting freely and without government direction, can ameliorate social problems through voluntary action. —Henry Olsen, National Review, 10 July 2025

Moving to multicore processors helped ameliorate that issue for a time. —IEEE Spectrum, 24 May 2023

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