loosen up, relax, let up, go easy on; forbear, have pity on, give quarter, temper the wind to the shorn lamb; subdue, moderate, modulate, weaken; melt, thaw, warm up; repreive, forgive, pardon, grant amnesty. relentless, adj. 1. unyielding, unrelenting, implacable, unsparing; inexorable, remorseless, unflagging, dogged; undeviating, unswerving, persistent, persevering, undaunted; rigid, stern, strict, harsh, grim, austere; merciless, ruthless, unmerciful, pitiless, un-pitying, unforgiving; unmitigable, inflexible, unbend-able, resisting, grudging; hard, imperious, obdurate, adamant, adamantine, intransigent; uncompassionate, unfeeling, unsympathetic, intolerant.
2. cruel, inclement, unkind; brutal, rigorous, fell, savage, ferocious; cold-blooded, marble-hearted, cold-hearted, stony-hearted; bloodthirsty, barbarous, ferine, inhuman, heartless, vicious, truculent, devilish. relevance, n. pertinence, appurtenance, germaneness, applicability, application, relatedness, relation, bearing; correspondence, congruence, consistency, comparability, affinity, connection, tie-in; opportuneness, seasonability, timeliness, expedience, expediency, felicity, felicitousness; aptness, fitness, suitability, suitableness, appropriateness, appositeness. relevant, adj. pertinent, pertaining, appurtenant, to the point, germane, apropos, Latin, ad rem, material, applicable; at issue, in question; opportune, seasonable, timely, expedient; related, analogous, correspondent, comparable, allied, akin; apposite, appropriate, proper, due, meet; apt, suitable, suited, congruous, fitting, befitting, apposite, well-adapted, pat. reliable, adj. 1. dependable, trustworthy, honest, upright, honorable, aboveboard, as good as one's word, honest as the day is long, truthful; responsible, principled, conscientious, punctilious, careful; trusty, sure, unfailing, infallible, strong, abiding, steady, firm, Inf. all right, Inf O.K.; faithful, true, steadfast, true-blue, devoted, Inf. Johnny-on-the-spot.
2. authentic, genuine, real, substantiated, well-grounded, well-founded; authoritative, established, reputable, secure, safe, stable; believable, credible, sound, certain; assured, guaranteed, unquestionable, indisputable, incontestable, indubitable. reliance, n. confidence, trust, faith, belief, dependence; security, sureness, assuredness, surety, positiveness, conviction, certainty. relic, n. 1. artifact, ancient object, reminder of times past; antique, heirloom; ancient ruins, wreckage, debris, detritus; surviving trace, vestige, impression, sign, evidence, record.
2. relics remains, reliquiae, remainders, what's left; parts, pieces, bits and pieces, fragments, shards.
3. relics corpse, dead body, organic remains, cadaver, Sl. stiff, carcass, mummy; bones, skeleton, fossil, petrified remains, petrifactions.
4. souvenir, memento, keepsake, remembrance, reminder of days gone by, something to remember [s.o.] by. relief, n. 1. alleviation, mitigation, abatement, assuagement, palliation; ease, easement, comfort, solace, consolation, calming; softening, mollification, slackening, loosening, relaxation.
2. deliverance, rescue, release, freeing, liberation, extrication, riddance; assistance, support, strengthening, reinforcement; succor, help, aid, redress, remedy.
3. money, food; welfare, the dole, handout, alms, charity; food stamps, unemployment compensation, Inf. unemployment, social security; the public till.
4. break, recess, respite, lull, letup, rest, remission; change of pace, divertissement, diversion; refreshment, relaxation.