Lieventää

Lieventää is a Finnish verb meaning to lessen, mitigate, or alleviate something. The term is used when the aim is to reduce the severity or impact of a situation, condition, or burden. It is commonly used with pain or symptoms in medical contexts, although the more frequent everyday verb for pain relief is lievittää. In legal, administrative, and political contexts, lieventää describes actions that soften consequences or penalties, such as lieventää rangaistusta (to mitigate punishment) or lieventää seuraamuksia (to lessen consequences). The verb can also refer to easing tensions or difficulties in social or work situations.

In everyday language, lieventää is somewhat formal or technical and is often preferred in written Finnish. Its close synonym lievittää is used more widely when referring to relieving physical pain or discomfort, while helpottaa conveys making something easier or more manageable in a practical sense.

Grammatically, lieventää is a transitive verb; its object is typically expressed in the partitive or accusative case, depending on the construction. The noun form is lieventäminen, and the related noun lievennys can be used to denote the act or process of alleviation in some contexts.

Related terms include lievittää, helpottaa, pehmentää, and lieventäminen as a noun form. The concept covers medical, legal, social, and everyday uses, always focusing on reducing intensity, severity, or burden rather than creating a cure alone.