soothe

[sooth]

verb (used with object)

soothed, soothing 

1. to tranquilize or calm (a person or their emotions); relieve, comfort, or refresh.

   soothing someone's anger;

   to soothe someone with a hot drink.

   Antonyms: roil, upset

2. to mitigate, assuage, or allay, as pain, sorrow, or doubt.

   to soothe sunburned skin.

   Synonyms: mollify, appease, alleviate

verb (used without object)

soothed, soothing 

1. to exert a calming influence; bring tranquility, ease, or comfort.

   a soft-spoken poem that soothes like a lullaby.

soothe

/ suːð /

verb

1. (tr) to make calm or tranquil

2. (tr) to relieve or assuage (pain, longing, etc)

3. (intr) to bring tranquillity or relief

Other Word Forms

• soother noun
• self-soothed adjective
• unsoothed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of soothe¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of soothe¹

C16 (in the sense: to mollify): from Old English sōthian to prove; related to Old Norse sanna to assert; see _sooth

Synonym Study

See comfort, allay.

Example Sentences

She said she believed the theft may have been a part of a coping mechanism and likened herself to a foster child who may hoard items or food as a means of soothing themselves.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Maybe you’ve been both people in that shot: the person overwhelmed by their own pain and the loved one who has no idea how to soothe them.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Europa League nights have so often brought solace and soothed any domestic difficulties suffered by Rangers in recent seasons.

Read more on BBC

Whenever I catch myself wishing I’d lived in a calmer era, I’m oddly soothed by asking, Like, when?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Without her husband, Erika Kirk can no longer play the role of the soothing housewife.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• allay 
• alleviate 
• appease 
• assuage 
• cool 
• mitigate 
• mollify 
• pacify 
• relieve 
• soften