soothe
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to make calm or tranquil
-
(tr) to relieve or assuage (pain, longing, etc)
-
(intr) to bring tranquillity or relief
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- self-soothed adjective
- soother noun
- unsoothed adjective
Etymology
Origin of soothe
First recorded before 950; Middle English sothen “to bear witness, confirm, verify,” Old English sōthian “to prove true”; the Modern English sense shift “to verify” becomes “to support (a person's statement),” then “to encourage,” and finally “to calm”; sooth
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Such profit growth would soothe concerns about the company’s recent aggressive capital investments and borrowings, as it would eventually make those costs look smaller and less risky.
From Barron's
Such profit growth would soothe concerns about the company’s recent aggressive capital investments and borrowings, as it would eventually make those costs look smaller and less risky.
From Barron's
“What are your emotional tics or the things that soothe you or that just come with who you are that actually never change? What has changed was up to me.”
From Los Angeles Times
Imports to China jumped too, which could soothe concerns about trade imbalances.
After a tumultuous morning during which US stock market indexes dropped and oil prices surged, the American president began speed-dialing reporters in an apparent effort to soothe nerves.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
