1 (from pain, anxiety) alivio (m) that's a relief! ¡qué alivio!; the news came as a great relief to her parents la noticia fue un gran alivio para sus padres; there was a sense of relief that the war was finally over todos sintieron un gran alivio cuando se supo que la guerra había terminado por fin; the relief of nasal congestion el alivio de la congestión nasal
he felt nothing but relief it was a relief when Clayton began talking again I saw with relief that the visitor was Mr Beden
to bring or give or provide relief from sth aliviar algo; drugs provide relief from the pain las drogas alivian el dolor
a self-help programme which can give lasting relief from the torment of hay fever medical treatment was excellent at providing short-term relief hot, moist compresses will bring quick relief
to heave or breathe a sigh of relief dar un suspiro de alivio
I breathed a sigh of relief that it was over at last Labour will be breathing a sigh of relief after yesterday's election result
to our (great) relief, she accepted para (gran) alivio nuestro, aceptó
to his relief a loud knock on the door spared him from giving an explanation to my relief, he found the suggestion acceptable
she almost wept with or in relief casi lloró del alivio que sintió
2 (from monotony) it's a relief to get out of the office once in a while es un respiro salir de la oficina de vez en cuando
their visits were a relief from loneliness his brother was there to provide some [comic] relief it was one of the few sources of comic relief in an otherwise grim story
by way of light relief a modo de diversión
I found the play utterly depressing - the only light relief was provided when the actors forgot their lines
3 (aid) auxilio (m); ayuda (f) a cricket match in aid of flood relief
disaster relief auxilio a las víctimas de una catástrofe
President Bush has requested $7.6 billion in disaster relief for storm victims in South Florida the government is to cut its spending on disaster relief to [come]/[go] to sb's relief, to [come]/[go] to the relief of sb
relief efforts have been hampered by the rains la lluvia ha dificultado las operaciones de auxilio
to [send] relief to sb dozens of aid committees co-operated in efforts to send relief to Poland British planes tried to send relief to the Kurds in Iraq sending relief is vital but not enough - a peacekeeping force must be considered
4 (state welfare) to be on or get relief (US) recibir prestaciones de la seguridad social; poor relief (Britain) (Hist) socorro (m); beneficencia (f)
5 (Mil) [of town] liberación (f) the relief of Khe Sanh began on April 1
6 (Art) (Geog) relieve (m) magnificent reliefs by Donatello a medal with a low relief of the Virgin Mary
in relief en relieve
a globe of the world in relief
in high/low relief en alto/bajo relieve
a frieze of sculpted figures in high relief flamboyantly carved in low relief
to stand out in (bold or sharp or stark) relief against sth contrastar dramáticamente con algo
each crystal in the granite stood out in bold relief the incident still stands out in bold relief in his memory
to throw or bring sth into (sharp) relief poner algo de relieve; hacer resaltar algo
the sunset behind the house threw it into sharp relief against the sky rays of dazzling light caught the clean lines of his face and figure and threw them into sharp relief
the bill threw into sharp relief Conservative divisions over family policy his writings threw the whole question of political ideology into sharp relief the ability of neo-liberal theory to throw into sharp relief the dilemma between market and bureaucratic decision-making these women successfully pressed the State Department to put an end to the foreign-service marriage rule - /this threw into stark relief diplomacy's dependence on marriage/
7 (replacement) relevo (m); sustituto (m) when does your relief come on duty?
8 (exemption) (from taxation) desgravación (f) you qualify for relief on your pension contributions Germany announced today that it will provide debt relief for Russia the government announcement said the debt relief package is part of its effort to promote Third World growth
9 (Jur) desagravio (m) to seek relief through the courts