soothe
Americanverb (used with object)
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soothes,
present (3rd person singular)
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soothed,
past participle, past
-
soothing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
soothes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soothed,
past participle, past
-
soothing
present participle
verb
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(tr) to make calm or tranquil
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(tr) to relieve or assuage (pain, longing, etc)
-
(intr) to bring tranquillity or relief
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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soothesimple
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soothessimple
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have soothedperfect
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has soothedperfect
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am soothingprogressive
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are soothingprogressive
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is soothingprogressive
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have been soothingperfect progressive
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has been soothingperfect progressive
Past
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soothedsimple
-
had soothedperfect
-
was soothingprogressive
-
were soothingprogressive
-
had been soothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of soothe
First recorded before 950; Middle English sothen “to bear witness, confirm, verify,” Old English sōthian “to prove true”; the Modern English sense shift “to verify” becomes “to support (a person's statement),” then “to encourage,” and finally “to calm”; see origin at sooth
Compare meaning
How does soothe compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
To soothe is to relieve or to bring comfort. If the pounding in your head is driving you mad, it sounds like you might need an aspirin or two to soothe your headache. Soothing is meant to make you feel better, both physically and emotionally. Spend too many hours on the beach without sunblock? You'll need some aloe to soothe that sunburn. Had a bad breakup with a boyfriend? Soothing that broken heart might take something stronger — chocolates, a gabfest with good friends, and sappy movies are usually just what the doctor ordered.
Vocabulary lists containing soothe
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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.
See Examples For:
Tech stocks might be “cheap” because either investors don’t trust what analysts are saying about future earnings, or they want more earnings per share to soothe their worries.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Laughter is something we engage in to soothe us,” she explained.
From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026
Nvidia's report helped soothe some of those fears, with CEO Jensen Huang saying: "The AI infrastructure buildout is at full steam."
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Attention has shifted to U.S. inflation data due this week, where a softer-than-expected figure “would soothe hawkish Fed expectations and keep the market mood in a sweet spot,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Mother Fox stopped by to soothe her daughter and convince Maggie to stay with her and Kate.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
"The ceasefire definitely soothes our nerves, hoping it stays this way. The crew is finally taking a breather," an off-duty captain of a ship, whose crew is stranded off Qatar, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
Delta soothes investor fears over the effect of rising oil prices by raising revenue guidance, and the stock surges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
It rounds out the gift, soothes the persistent is this enough? anxiety, and keeps the whole endeavor feeling generous without becoming complicated.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2025
Her daughter would laugh and say, “Because it soothes her.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2025
Water always soothes me: hearing its movement, swimming in it, or watching the waves tumble.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
But on Wednesday, Vertiv, which makes cooling and power-management systems for data centers, soothed some of those fears.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
I have always slept better in apartment buildings than in silent houses, soothed by footsteps overhead and doors closing somewhere down the hall.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
A flurry of positive headlines around diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz soothed oil investors, sending global oil benchmarks below $87 a barrel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
That soothed fears the Federal Reserve could hike interest rates soon to bring down inflation, and fuelled a healthy bounce across Asia, led by Seoul.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
But she had been dealing with suspicious and cranky Scholars all her life, and she gazed back with such bland admiration that he was soothed.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
Rose noted that Fischer and Kinsey developed a deep friendship while working on “The Office,” which helps make “Office Ladies” a soothing hangout for fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
She added that Lawson is "just as confident as Leith but a much quieter, more soothing presence that works perfectly with Alison Hammond's ebullience and Paul Hollywood's teacher-ish vibe".
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
It’s a conclusion as chilling as it is strangely soothing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
In another 2013 study, Swedish researchers found that singing has a biologically soothing effect, especially on cardiovascular function.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
He sat on the cold concrete and sucked in another soothing breath.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
