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 Fed did little to assuage those fears Wednesday, keeping interest rates on hold and failing to signal the cuts that could give markets some hope amid a conflict with no end in sight.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Acknowledging growing public anxiety about the integration of AI into different facets of society, Klapper turned to pop culture to assuage fears.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Blue Owl’s future will depend on whether Ostrover and Lipschultz, two of Wall Street’s smoothest salesmen, can assuage concerns.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

The strategists also shared three things that corporate leaders should do to assuage investors’ concerns over AI.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

She had “an itchy foot,” William joked, “and the cash to assuage the itch.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

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