Palliation

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Palliation \Pal`li*a"tion\, n. [Cf. F. palliation.]
     1. The act of palliating, or state of being palliated;
        extenuation; excuse; as, the palliation of faults,
        offenses, vices.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. Mitigation; alleviation, as of a disease. --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. That which cloaks or covers; disguise; also, the state of
        being covered or disguised. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  palliation
       n 1: easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing
            the cause
       2: to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less
          serious [syn: {extenuation}, {mitigation}]