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RELATED WORDS

sure, solid, reliable, able, confident, easy, stable, strong, temperate, serene, pastoral, easygoing, balmy, tame, gentle, mild, placid, sedate, sober, restful

Nearby words

earwig, earwigging, earwitness, earworm, eas, ease, ease off, ease out, easeful, easel, easement

Idioms

    at ease, Military. a position of rest in which soldiers may relax but may not leave their places or talk.

Origin of ease

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English ese, eise < Anglo-French ese, Old French aise, eise comfort, convenience < Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), accusative of *adjacēs vicinity (compare Medieval Latin in aiace in (the) vicinity), the regular outcome of Latin adjacēns adjacent, taken in VL as a noun of the type nūbēs, accusative nūbem cloud; (v.) Middle English esen < Anglo-French e(i)ser, Old French aisier, derivative of the noun

Related forms

self-ease, nounself-eas·ing, adjectivewell-eased, adjective

Synonym study

1. Ease, comfort refer to a sense of relaxation or of well-being. Ease implies a relaxed condition with an absence of effort or pressure: a life of ease. Comfort suggests a sense of well-being, along with ease, which produces a quiet happiness and contentment: comfort in one's old age.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for at ease

ease

/ (iːz) /

noun

verb

Derived Forms

easer, noun

Word Origin for ease

C13: from Old French aise ease, opportunity, from Latin adjacēns neighbouring (area); see adjacent
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

Idioms and Phrases with at ease (1 of 2)

at ease

1

Also, at one's ease. Comfortable, relaxed, unembarrassed, as in I always feel at ease in my grandmother's house. The related idiom put at ease means “make comfortable, reassure,” as in I was worried that the letter would not arrive in time, but the postmaster put me at ease. [1300s] For the antonym, see ill at ease.

2

In a relaxed position in military ranks. The phrase is often used as a command for troops standing at attention to relax, as in At ease, squadron. The command stand at ease is slightly different. A British military dictionary of 1802 described it as standing with the right foot drawn back about six inches and one's weight put on it. An American version is to stand with one's feet slightly apart and the hands clasped behind one's back.

Idioms and Phrases with at ease (2 of 2)

ease

In addition to the idioms beginning with ease

  • ease off
  • ease out

also see:

  • at ease
  • ill at ease

Also see undereasilyeasy.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.