- a variant of ameliorate
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
mel•io•rate
(mēl′yə rāt′, mē′lē ə-),USA pronunciation v.t., v.i., -rat•ed, -rat•ing.
mel•io•ra•ble
(mēl′yər ə bəl, mē′lē ər ə-),USA pronunciation adj.
mel•io•ra•tive
(mēl′yə rā′tiv, -yər ə tiv, mē′lē ə rā′-, -ər ə-),USA pronunciation adj.
mel′io•ra′tor, n.
- ameliorate.
- Latin meliōrātus (past participle of meliōrāre) to make better, improve, equivalent. to meliōr- (stem of melior) better + -ātus -ate1
- 1545–55;
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'meliorate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):