palliation vs step-down

palliation and step-down both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
palliation	Yes	No	No	No
step-down	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, step-down is a hypernym of palliation; that is, step-down is a word with a broader meaning than palliation:

palliation: to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious
step-down: the act of decreasing or reducing something

Other hypernyms of palliation include decrease, diminution, reduction.

palliation (noun)	step-down (noun)
easing the severity of a pain or a disease without removing the cause	the act of decreasing or reducing something
to act in such a way as to cause an offense to seem less serious