The villagers were relieved/relaxed

Question

The villagers were relieved/relaxed when the dangerous criminal was finally caught by police.Do both of the bolded words fit in the above and mean about the same? Thanks.

Yoong Liat · Accepted Answer

AngliholicThe villagers were relieved/relaxed when the dangerous criminal was finally caught by police.

Do both of the bolded words fit in the above and mean about the same? Thanks.

Only 'relieved' should be used.

Angliholic · Answer

Yoong Liat
Angliholic
The villagers were relieved/relaxed when the dangerous criminal was finally caught by police.

Do both of the bolded words fit in the above and mean about the same? Thanks.

Only 'relieved' should be used.

Thanks, Yoong.

But why doesn't "relaxed" do the trick?

Hoa Thai · Answer

Angliholic
Yoong Liat
AngliholicThe villagers were relieved/relaxed when the dangerous criminal was finally caught by police.

Do both of the bolded words fit in the above and mean about the same? Thanks.

Only 'relieved' should be used.

Thanks, Yoong.

But why doesn't "relaxed" do the trick?

Hi,

My take:
As tension subsides, one can feel relieved (glad) then relaxed ( free from strain or tension.)

Best
Hoa Thai

Clive · Answer

Hi guys,

The villagers were relieved/relaxed when the dangerous criminal was finally caught by police.

Do both of the bolded words fit in the above and mean about the same?

In addition to the earlier comments, I would say that 'relieve' basically means 'remove a burden'. In this case, the villagers' burden of fear was removed.

Here are a few simple and less simple examples, in all of which you can detect the idea of 'a burden'.

She carried the heavy bag until her husband relieved her of it.

He was relieved to pass the exam.

The pickpocket relieved him of his wallet.

The general relieved the colonel because he was a coward.

Best wishes, Clive

Angliholic · Answer

CliveHi guys,

The villagers were relieved/relaxed when the dangerous criminal was finally caught by police.

Do both of the bolded words fit in the above and mean about the same?

In addition to the earlier comments, I would say that 'relieve' basically means 'remove a burden'. In this case, the villagers' burden of fear was removed.

Here are a few simple and less simple examples, in all of which you can detect the idea of 'a burden'.

She carried the heavy bag until her husband relieved her of it.

He was relieved to pass the exam.

The pickpocket relieved him of his wallet.

The general relieved the colonel because he was a coward.

Best wishes, Clive

Thanks, Hoa and Clive.Now I get the "relieved" clearly, but as for "relaxed," I still have a lingering question--why doesn't it fit? In our language, it does the trick.

Hoa Thai · Answer

AngliholicThanks, Hoa and Clive.Now I get the "relieved" clearly, but as for "relaxed," I still have a lingering question--why doesn't it fit? In our language, it does the trick.

Hi Angliholic,

Allow me to isolate the sentence as follows:

"The villagers were relaxed when the dangerous criminal was caught by police."

When I read that sentence - stand alone by itself - I have an image that the villagers felt relaxed as (or even before) the criminal was caught. Note that: it is strange but true - someone could have felt relaxed even if the criminal had not been caught. Therefore, the sentence is not clear about the timing and the cause/effect relationship between the two clauses; thus, it sounds confusing. It would be all right to say, "Since the dangerous criminal was caught by the police, the villagers can now feel relaxed."

Of course, you could ask what about relieved. Relief needs 'removal of burden'. Without extra context, the burden the villagers experienced was the criminal running around.

I hope that makes sense to you.

Best,
Hoa Thai

The villagers were relieved/relaxed

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