allay

[ uh-ley ]

See synonyms for: allay allayed allaying on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),al·layed, al·lay·ing.

to put (fear, doubt, suspicion, anger, etc.) to rest; calm; quiet.
to lessen or relieve; mitigate; alleviate: to allay pain.

Origin of allay

before 1000; Middle English aleyen,Old English ālecgan to put down, allay (ā-a-³ + lecgan to lay¹); spelling -ll- shows influence of the now obsolete allege (<Anglo-French, Old French aleg(i)er;see allege) to alleviate, allay

synonym study For allay

1. 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 words for allay

1	soften, assuage
2	lighten, mollify, temper, ease

See synonyms for allay on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for allay

excite

See antonyms for allay on Thesaurus.com

Other words from allay

al·lay·er, noun
un·al·layed, adjective

Words that may be confused with allay

allay , alley, alloy, ally

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use allay in a sentence

To allay such worries in December, Indonesian President Widodo said that he would be first in line to take the vaccine once approved by Indonesian authorities.
Data delays aren’t slowing the global rollout of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine | Grady McGregor | January 4, 2021 | Fortune
The only joy is the momentary spasm of sexual gratification; the only happiness that of (temporarily) allayed jealousy.
David's Bookclub: Sodom and Gomorrah | David Frum | September 29, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
However, my nervousness was suddenly allayed by a surprising development.
James Joyce’s Grandson Stephen and Literature’s Most Tyrannical Estate | Gordon Bowker | June 14, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Ovid looked a bit doubtful, but Scattergood's voice was so interested, so bland, that any suspicion of irony was allayed.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington Kelland
I no longer indulged the ungracious idea of spiting her against me, and, by degrees, all my other fears were allayed.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment | Silvio Pellico

Even then her doubts were allayed by her recognition of certain landmarks which told her she was on the Hertford Road.
The Daffodil Mystery | Edgar Wallace
My exasperation with self was by no means allayed when I tripped over a stone and fell my length in a sludgy patch of swamp.
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events | S. Baring-Gould
When it was believed that the excitement was allayed another outbreak occurred at Lucknow.
A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year | Edwin Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for allay

allay

/ (əˈleɪ) /

verb

to relieve (pain, grief, etc) or be relieved
(tr) to reduce (fear, anger, etc)

Origin of allay

Old English ālecgan to put down, from lecgan to lay 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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