dull vs relieve

dull

verb
  • To soften, moderate or blunt; to make dull, stupid, or sluggish; to stupefy. 

  • To render dull; to remove or blunt an edge or something that was sharp. 

  • To lose a sharp edge; to become dull. 

  • To render dim or obscure; to sully; to tarnish. 

adj
  • Not bright or intelligent; stupid; having slow understanding. 

  • Insensible; unfeeling. 

  • Not intense; felt indistinctly or only slightly. 

  • Sluggish, listless. 

  • Boring; not exciting or interesting. 

  • Not shiny; having a matte finish or no particular luster or brightness. 

  • Lacking the ability to cut easily; not sharp. 

  • Cloudy, overcast. 

  • Heavy; lifeless; inert. 

  • Not clear, muffled. 

relieve

verb
  • To ease (a person, person's thoughts etc.) from mental distress; to stop (someone) feeling anxious or worried, to alleviate the distress of. 

  • To ease (someone, a part of the body etc.) or give relief from physical pain or discomfort. 

  • To release (someone) from or of a difficulty, unwanted task, responsibility etc. 

  • To free (someone) from debt or legal obligations; to give legal relief to. 

  • To alleviate (pain, distress, mental discomfort etc.). 

  • To urinate or defecate. 

  • To ease one's own desire to orgasm, often through masturbation to orgasm. 

  • To bring military help to (a besieged town); to lift the siege on. 

  • To free (someone) from their post, task etc. by taking their place. 

  • To provide comfort or assistance to (someone in need, especially in poverty). 

How often have the words dull and relieve occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )