Mēl'ior-āte1, v. t.
(mĕl'yor-āt) (Synop., § 130), v. t. [imp. & p. p. MELIORATED; p. pr. & vb. n. MELIORATING.] [Lat. meliorare, melioratum, from melior, better, compar. of bonus, good; Fr. méliorer, Pr. melhorar, Pg. melhorar, Sp. mejorar, It. migliorare. Cf. AMELIORATE.] To make better; to improve; to ameliorate; to soften; to render less acrid and offensive; as, to meliorate fruit by grafting, or soil by cultivation.
Nature by art we nobly meliorate. Denham.
The pure and benign light of revelation has had a meliorating influence on mankind. Washington.