Vocabulary (Synonym) – Choose the option that best matches the meaning of the highlighted word in context. Sentence: The tablet “alleviated” the pain, and the patient was soon feeling much better.

Introduction / Context:
This vocabulary question asks you to select the closest synonym of the word “alleviated” as used in a medical context: “The tablet alleviated the pain.” In healthcare and everyday English, alleviate means to make suffering less severe, not necessarily to eliminate it entirely.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Target word: alleviated.
• Context: reduction of pain after taking a tablet.
• Answer choices: mitigated, moderated, removed, lightened.

Concept / Approach:
We look for a word that conveys partial or substantial reduction in intensity. In pain management, standard collocations are “alleviate pain,” “mitigate symptoms,” and “relieve discomfort.” While several options seem close, one best captures the precise sense of lowering severity without implying total elimination.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Substitute each option into the sentence: “The tablet mitigated the pain” reads naturally in clinical or formal writing. “Removed the pain” overstates; most analgesics relieve rather than eradicate. “Moderated the pain” and “lightened the pain” are intelligible but not the best collocations.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• moderated: Grammatically fine but not the most idiomatic with pain.
• removed: Implies total elimination, which is not the meaning of alleviate.
• lightened: Informal; better for “load” or “mood,” not precise here.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing degrees of change: “alleviate/mitigate” (reduce) vs “remove/cure” (eliminate). Exams often test this nuance in medical or legal contexts.

Final Answer:
mitigated