assuage
Americanverb (used with object)
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assuages,
present (3rd person singular)
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assuaged,
past participle, past
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assuaging
present participle
verb
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to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
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to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
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to pacify; calm
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assuagesimple
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assuagessimple
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have assuagedperfect
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has assuagedperfect
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am assuagingprogressive
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are assuagingprogressive
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is assuagingprogressive
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have been assuagingperfect progressive
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has been assuagingperfect progressive
Past
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assuagedsimple
-
had assuagedperfect
-
was assuagingprogressive
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were assuagingprogressive
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had been assuagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of assuage
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English aswagen, from Old French asouagier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin assuāviāre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + -suāviāre, verbal derivative of Latin suāvis “agreeable to the taste, pleasant” ( cf. suave; akin to sweet )
Explanation
If you assuage an unpleasant feeling, you make it go away. Assuaging your hunger by eating a bag of marshmallows may cause you other unpleasant feelings. The most common things that we assuage are fears, concerns, guilt, grief, anxiety, and anger. That makes a lot of sense — these are all things we seek relief from. The word comes from Old French assouagier, from the Latin root suavis, "sweet" — think of adding a bit of honey to something unpleasant. A word with a similar meaning is mollify.
Vocabulary lists containing assuage
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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The Giver
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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:
But their statements did not assuage Caproni, who chastised them for refusing to admit their crimes.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Agreements on editorial boards or ombudsmen are typically made to assuage regulatory concerns over a change in media ownership.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The quarterly results helped assuage the concerns of some investors and analysts who have recently been worried about a “SaaSpocalypse,” in which corporate-software companies’ expensive off-the-shelf products would be replaced with cheaper AI-concocted versions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Merz sought to assuage his critics this week, insisting that "long-term lessons" would be drawn from the difficult summer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
“This is to assuage our conscience, darling,” she would explain to Blanca.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
What she notices about pizza is that pizza “is like a smiling face: It assuages the fear of complexity by showing everything on its surface.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2024
Having Castillo atop the rotation certainly assuages many of those feelings.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
It assuages the fear and tension that’s been tormenting Wood throughout the film because here she is believed, and she’s not alone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2022
Harrison validates and assuages this fear by telling James that love is love is love and James should feel free to pick whomever he wants.
From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2021
The row he referred to gaped in the late painful stage in building before the healing touch of the plasterer assuages the roughness of the brickwork.
From The History of Mr. Polly by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Tech stock losses cooled, but concerns about high costs and barriers to AI growth haven’t been completely assuaged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
In an instant, Urbina’s fears had been assuaged.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
But these were largely assuaged by a new start line procedure that was trialled at the test, which gives the drivers more time to get the turbos spinning at the optimum speed.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
However, the company didn’t share specific funding details that could have assuaged debt concerns.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025
He was not assuaged by the more charitable opinion of his superior, Rutherford, who was delighted with Lawrence’s spirit in defending his results.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Given the stock’s retreat over recent months, stronger-than-expected results, amid low expectations, “could go a long way in assuaging several of these investor concerns.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The goal was to provide enterprise customers more powerful tools while assuaging the White House’s concerns that they could be weaponized by bad actors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Earlier this week, the U.S. promised tankers protection through the Persian Gulf, if necessary, assuaging some of the market’s concerns about the effects of a Hormuz chokehold.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
Universities, far from assuaging that constant fear, should fight to make it a reality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2025
During the first months of their marriage, he called Celia every night, his gentle voice assuaging her.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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