Ate a pill to give relief (8)
I believe the answer is:
palliate
'ate a pill to give relief' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'ate a pill to give' is the wordplay.
'to give' is an anagram indicator (I've seen 'gives' mean this).
'ate'+'a'+'pill'='ateapill'
'ateapill' with letters rearranged gives 'PALLIATE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for palliate that I've seen before include "everything before I cut into spread" , "Soften (the effect of)" , "Eat a pill (anag) - make easier" , "Mitigate (something bad)" , "Allay" .)