Ameliorated

/əˈmɪljəreɪtɪd/ verb

Definition

Made something better or improved a difficult situation.

Etymology

From Latin 'melior' (better) with prefix 'ad-' (to), combined in Medieval Latin as 'ameliorare.' The word evolved from descriptions of making agricultural land better to any general improvement.

Kelly Says

Ameliorated sounds fancy, but it's just 'made better'—yet it became the legal and formal term for improvement because 18th-century lawyers loved Latin-sounding words to seem smarter about property disputes.

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