allay
Americanverb (used with object)
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allays,
present (3rd person singular)
-
allayed,
past participle, past
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allaying
present participle
verb
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to relieve (pain, grief, etc) or be relieved
-
(tr) to reduce (fear, anger, etc)
Synonym Usage
Allay, moderate, soothe mean to reduce excitement or emotion. To allay is to lay to rest or lull to a sense of security, possibly by making the emotion seem unjustified: to allay suspicion, anxiety, fears. To moderate is to tone down any excess and thus to restore calm: to moderate the expression of one's grief. To soothe is to exert a pacifying or tranquilizing influence: to soothe a terrified child.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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allaysimple
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allayssimple
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have allayedperfect
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has allayedperfect
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am allayingprogressive
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are allayingprogressive
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is allayingprogressive
-
have been allayingperfect progressive
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has been allayingperfect progressive
Past
-
allayedsimple
-
had allayedperfect
-
was allayingprogressive
-
were allayingprogressive
-
had been allayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of allay
before 1000; Middle English aleyen, Old English ālecgan to put down, allay ( ā- a- 3 + lecgan to lay 1 ); spelling -ll- shows influence of the now obsolete allege (< Anglo-French, Old French aleg ( i ) er; see allege) to alleviate, allay
Explanation
The verb allay is used when you want to make something better or eliminate fears and concerns. When you allay something, you are calming it or reducing difficulties. It is used commonly in the context of to allay concerns and to comfort and some of its many synonyms are alleviate, decrease, mitigate, assuage and mollify. Allay comes from the Old English word alecgan, which means "to put down," as in literally "to lighten." So, if you can allay someone's fears, you are lightening their mood!
Vocabulary lists containing allay
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Grade 11, List 6
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Twelfth Night
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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.
See Examples For:
Ever since the probe was announced, the committee has sought to allay concerns over it, with the body's acting director insisting the same day that any suggestion of widespread issues was "entirely groundless".
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
JetBlue shares rallied on Tuesday after the beleaguered airline sought to allay worries about its business, saying it’s on the cusp of being profitable again — something it hasn’t managed to accomplish since 2019.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
She said in communities where myths existed around screening, time is also required to explain what is involved and allay fears and potentially work with interpreters.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
He had been searching for a tangible way to help the environment and allay his anxieties about the planet’s future when he came across Crouch’s posts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
While we stood in line, my mother, in an attempt to allay her doubts about the contents of the note, asked a man in front of us to read it to her.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
The director of Belfast Christmas Market is hoping the suspension of roadworks in the run-up to Christmas allays concerns after recent traffic congestion in the city.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2024
In states that are now moving to change their procedures, lawmakers argue that creating formal rules allays security concerns and prevents bad actors from disrupting governance.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2022
Now, an ambitious new study allays those fears.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 2, 2022
The wall-to-wall news coverage and social media chatter about the crisis can provoke anxiety as much as it informs and allays fear.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 13, 2020
Men, women and little children lay side by side in the large sleeping rooms and “shared each other's woes,” for “the consciousness of kind allays fear and engenders comradeship.”
From Catastrophe and Social Change Based Upon a Sociological Study of the Halifax Disaster by Samuel Henry Prince
The release of Anthropic’s pre-IPO financials appears to have allayed some of those concerns, at least for now.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
Surging memory costs was one area of concern ahead of Cisco’s earnings but the company allayed those fears.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
With Bath playing with more width and ruthlessness – nine tries from 17 visits to the Saracens 22m – some of the pre-Six Nations concerns over the defending champions were allayed.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
Early fears that the fast-food colossus would be overly brand conscious and dictate content were allayed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
I knew that when Oliver and the National Executive read my memo, their fears that I had gone off the road would be allayed.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
It is also possible that a couple of rate hikes now, paired with reassuring language from the Fed, could lower long-term yields by allaying fears that the central bank is behind the curve on inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
January’s jobs growth was the largest since that of December 2024, allaying fears of a weakening labor market.
From Barron's ● Mar. 1, 2026
Elsewhere in Asia, the Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that the president did not intend to sign execution warrants, allaying concerns it might resume putting people to death.
From BBC ● May 28, 2024
Wall Street has largely held steady through the start of the earnings season as results from the big banks came in stronger than expected, allaying concerns about a contagion from the banking crisis in March.
From Reuters ● Apr. 24, 2023
Eisenhower understood that allaying the public’s concerns required concrete action.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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