ameliorate

/əˈmiljəˌeɪt/uh-MEEL-yur-ayt

/əˈmiljɚˌeɪt/uh-MEEL-yur-ayt

Meaningto make better

Common meaning: to improve

ato, towards, at (Latin ad-, often through French a-)
meliorbetterLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1128 · scan
ateverb or adjective ending: to make, having

‘to, towards, at (Latin ad-, often through French a-)’ + ‘better’ → ameliorate

Journey through time

Latinmelior, -ius‘better’
Frenchameliorer
Englishameliorate‘to improve’ · today

a- also in: amuse apart avail amount aplomb

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin melior ‘better’.

Roots

melior, -ius Latin “better”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app