1. The act of relieving ills and changing for the better
   "The new policies led to the melioration of working conditions";
   - amelioration, betterment
    
2. A condition superior to an earlier condition
   "the new school represents a great melioration";
   - improvement
    
3. The linguistic process in which over a period of time a word grows more positive in connotation or more elevated in meaning
   "The melioration of the word 'nice' has changed its meaning from 'foolish' to 'pleasant' over time"

Derived forms: meliorations

Type of: condition, drift, improvement, status

Encyclopedia: Melioration