Synonyms

assuage

American

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

verb (used with object)

assuaged, assuaging

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

to assuage one's grief;
to assuage one's pain.

Synonyms:

relieve, lessen, diminish, allay
to appease; satisfy; sate.

to assuage one's hunger.
to soothe, calm, or mollify.

to assuage his fears;
to assuage her anger.

assuage British

/ əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪsɪv /

verb

to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
to pacify; calm

"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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Some investors said the slide shows how, for AI-linked companies, the bar to please investors—and assuage bubble worries—keeps getting higher.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

Sheinbaum, meanwhile, has steadily increased security cooperation with the U.S., in an effort to assuage Trump and stave off unilateral U.S. action inside Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

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

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

I get that they’re worried and looking out for me, but I can’t abide their pleas or assuage their fears.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023