ease

[ eez ]

/ iz /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ease ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

freedom from labor, pain, or physical annoyance; tranquil rest; comfort: to enjoy one's ease.

freedom from concern, anxiety, or solicitude; a quiet state of mind: to be at ease about one's health.

freedom from difficulty or great effort; facility: It can be done with ease.

freedom from financial need; plenty: a life of ease on a moderate income.

freedom from stiffness, constraint, or formality; unaffectedness: ease of manner; the ease and elegance of her poetry.

verb (used with object), eased, eas·ing.

to free from anxiety or care: to ease one's mind.

to mitigate, lighten, or lessen: to ease pain.

to release from pressure, tension, or the like.

to move or shift with great care: to ease a car into a narrow parking space.

to render less difficult; facilitate: I'll help if it will ease your job.

to provide (an architectural member) with an easement.

Shipbuilding. to trim (a timber of a wooden hull) so as to fair its surface into the desired form of the hull.

Nautical.

to bring (the helm or rudder of a vessel) slowly amidships.
to bring the head of (a vessel) into the wind.
to slacken or lessen the hold upon (a rope).
to lessen the hold of (the brake of a windlass).

verb (used without object), eased, eas·ing.

to abate in severity, pressure, tension, etc. (often followed by off or up).

to become less painful, burdensome, etc.

to move, shift, or be moved or be shifted with great care.

Verb Phrases

ease out, to remove from a position of authority, a job, or the like, especially by methods intended to be tactful: He was eased out as division head to make way for the boss's nephew.

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Idioms for ease

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

SYNONYMS FOR ease

1 repose, contentment, effortlessness.

2 tranquillity, serenity, calmness, peace.

5 naturalness, informality.

6 comfort, relieve, disburden; tranquilize, soothe.

7 alleviate, assuage, allay, abate, reduce.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR ease ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR ease

1 discomfort, effort.

2 disturbance.

5 stiffness, formality, tenseness.

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synonym study for ease

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM ease

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

Words nearby ease

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for at ease

ease

/ (iːz) /

noun

freedom from discomfort, worry, or anxiety

lack of difficulty, labour, or awkwardness; facility

rest, leisure, or relaxation

freedom from poverty or financial embarrassment; affluencea life of ease

lack of restraint, embarrassment, or stiffnesshis ease of manner disarmed us

at ease military

(of a standing soldier, etc) in a relaxed position with the feet apart and hands linked behind the back
a command to adopt such a position
in a relaxed attitude or frame of mind

verb

to make or become less burdensome

(tr) to relieve (a person) of worry or care; comfort

(tr) to make comfortable or give rest to

(tr) to make less difficult; facilitate

to move or cause to move into, out of, etc, with careful manipulationto ease a car into a narrow space

(when intr, often foll by off or up) to lessen or cause to lessen in severity, pressure, tension, or strain; slacken, loosen, or abate

ease oneself or ease nature archaic, euphemistic to urinate or defecate

ease the helm nautical to relieve the pressure on the rudder of a vessel, esp by bringing the bow into the wind

Derived forms of ease

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

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.

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.

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