assuage

American  

[uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh] / əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪʒ /

verb (used with object)

assuaged, assuaging

1. to make milder or less severe; alleviate; ease; mitigate.

   to assuage one's grief;

   to assuage one's pain.

   Synonyms:

   relieve, lessen, diminish, allay

2. to appease; satisfy; sate.

   to assuage one's hunger.

3. to soothe, calm, or mollify.

   to assuage his fears;

   to assuage her anger.

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assuage British  

/ əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪsɪv /

verb

1. to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)

2. to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy

3. to pacify; calm

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Other Word Forms

• assuagement noun
• assuager noun
• assuasive adjective
• unassuaging adjective

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” ( suave; akin to sweet )

Example Sentences

“The fact the officers’ actions were taken against a possibly suicidal person who was experiencing a mental break and suffered physical limitations does little to assuage the emotional response to such a tragedy.”

From Los Angeles Times

To assuage wildlife concerns, National Grid in 2020 built a bespoke bat barn during the construction of a new overhead line.

From The Wall Street Journal

Netflix executives send a note to company staffers to assuage concerns about its proposed takeover.

From Los Angeles Times

IRobot has tried assuaging the fears, saying that it will continue operations with no anticipated disruption to its app functionality, customer programs or product support.

From Los Angeles Times

Refunds could raise questions about the fate of tariff revenue, an estimated $350 billion annualized, which has assuaged worries about the fiscal deficit.

From Barron's

Related Words

• allay
• alleviate
• appease
• lessen
• mitigate
• mollify
• pacify
• placate
• quench
• sate
• satisfy
• soften
• temper