definitions

assuage

[ uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh ]
/ əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪʒ /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR assuage ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), as·suaged, as·suag·ing.

to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one's grief; to assuage one's pain.
to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve: to assuage one's hunger.
to soothe, calm, or mollify: to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger.

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RELATED WORDS

satisfy, mitigate, placate, appease, quench, lessen, soften, sate, alleviate, pacify, mollify, allay, temper, tranquilize, fill, surfeit, palliate, conciliate, ease, moderate

Nearby words

assorted, assortment, assr, asst, asst., assuage, assuan, assuasive, assuerus, assumable, assume

Origin of assuage

1250–1300; Middle English aswagen < Old French asouagier < Vulgar Latin *assuāviāre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + -suāviāre, verbal derivative of Latin suāvis agreeable to the taste, pleasant (cf. suave; akin to sweet)
Related formsas·suage·ment, nounas·suag·er, nounun·as·suaged, adjectiveun·as·suag·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for assuage

British Dictionary definitions for assuage

assuage

/ (əˈsweɪdʒ) /

verb (tr)

to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
to pacify; calm
Derived Formsassuagement, nounassuager, nounassuasive (əˈsweɪsɪv), adjective

Word Origin for assuage

C14: from Old French assouagier, from Vulgar Latin assuāviāre (unattested) to sweeten, from Latin suāvis pleasant; see suave
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

Word Origin and History for assuage

assuage

v.

c.1300, from Anglo-French assuager, Old French assoagier "soften, moderate, alleviate, calm, soothe, pacify," from Vulgar Latin *adsuaviare, from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + suavis "sweet, agreeable" (see sweet). For sound development in French, cf. deluge from Latin diluvium, abridge from abbreviare. Related: Assuaged; assuaging.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper