ease

American  

[eez] / iz /

noun

1. freedom from labor, pain, or physical annoyance; tranquil rest; comfort.

   to enjoy one's ease.

   Synonyms:

   effortlessness, contentment, repose

   Antonyms:

   effort, discomfort

2. freedom from concern, anxiety, or solicitude; a quiet state of mind.

   to be at ease about one's health.

   Synonyms:

   peace, calmness, serenity, tranquility

   Antonyms:

   disturbance

3. freedom from difficulty or great effort; facility.

   It can be done with ease.

4. freedom from financial need; plenty.

   a life of ease on a moderate income.

5. freedom from stiffness, constraint, or formality; unaffectedness.

   ease of manner;

   the ease and elegance of her poetry.

   Synonyms:

   informality, naturalness

   Antonyms:

   tenseness, formality, stiffness

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verb (used with object)

• eases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• eased,
  past participle,  past
• easing
  present participle

1. to free from anxiety or care.

   to ease one's mind.

   Synonyms:

   soothe, tranquilize, disburden, relieve, comfort

2. to mitigate, lighten, or lessen.

   to ease pain.

   Synonyms:

   reduce, abate, allay, assuage, alleviate

3. to release from pressure, tension, or the like.

4. to move or shift with great care.

   to ease a car into a narrow parking space.

5. to render less difficult; facilitate.

   I'll help if it will ease your job.

6. to provide (an architectural member) with an easement.

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

8. Nautical.

   1. to bring (the helm or rudder of a vessel) slowly amidships.

   2. to bring the head of (a vessel) into the wind.

   3. to slacken or lessen the hold upon (a rope).

   4. to lessen the hold of (the brake of a windlass).

verb (used without object)

• eases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• eased,
  past participle,  past
• easing
  present participle

1. to abate in severity, pressure, tension, etc. (often followed by off orup ).

2. to become less painful, burdensome, etc.

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

verb phrase

1. 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.

idioms

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

ease British  

/ iːz /

noun

1. freedom from discomfort, worry, or anxiety

2. lack of difficulty, labour, or awkwardness; facility

3. rest, leisure, or relaxation

4. freedom from poverty or financial embarrassment; affluence

   a life of ease

5. lack of restraint, embarrassment, or stiffness

   his ease of manner disarmed us

6. military

   1. (of a standing soldier, etc) in a relaxed position with the feet apart and hands linked behind the back

   2. a command to adopt such a position

   3. in a relaxed attitude or frame of mind

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verb

1. to make or become less burdensome

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

3. (tr) to make comfortable or give rest to

4. (tr) to make less difficult; facilitate

5. to move or cause to move into, out of, etc, with careful manipulation

   to ease a car into a narrow space

6. to lessen or cause to lessen in severity, pressure, tension, or strain; slacken, loosen, or abate

7. archaic to urinate or defecate

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

ease More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing ease

• at ease
• easily
• easy
• ill at ease

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Synonym Usage

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• easer
  noun
• self-ease
  noun
• self-easing
  adjective
• well-eased
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• easing
  present
• eased
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ease
  simple
• eases
  simple
• have eased
  perfect
• has eased
  perfect
• am easing
  progressive
• are easing
  progressive
• is easing
  progressive
• have been easing
  perfect progressive
• has been easing
  perfect progressive

Past

• eased
  simple
• had eased
  perfect
• was easing
  progressive
• were easing
  progressive
• had been easing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ease
  simple
• will have eased
  perfect
• will be easing
  progressive
• will have been easing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of ease

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English noun ese, eise, from Anglo-French, Old French “comfort, convenience,” from Vulgar Latin adjaces (unrecorded) “vicinity,” the regular outcome of literary Latin adjacēns adjacent; verb ultimately derivative of the noun

Explanation

Ease means to lessen or release, often making something possible in the meantime. When you put someone at their ease, you lessen their discomfort. When you ease into a chair, you gently release yourself into it. A life of ease means you do not have to struggle to make money. Your dad might be mad if you pierce your nose, but eventually, with time, his anger will ease and he will ease up on you. Your older siblings' behavior will ease the way for you to do things that frighten your parents without their overreacting.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ease eases eased easing

Upcoming methodological changes to those components at the BEA are likely to ease pressure on core PCE when the revised approach is rolled out next month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Beyond that, bringing in a mobile and versatile forward who could chip in would help ease the burden on William Osula and Yoane Wissa.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

The wet weather will be welcome for parched regions of the UK, but a lot more will be needed before drought conditions start to ease.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Last month, the EU proposed to keep more allowances on the market over the next 15 years to ease the impact on industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

He has no idea that when we swim together, I ease up on the clock.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

“As capacity eases, which we anticipate, this company will be among the first and hardest hit,” she wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

What they first cultivate with silly banter and lighthearted ad-libs eases into a more vulnerable, introspective atmosphere, comparable to a cathartic therapy session.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

But as the wind eases the heat will spread more widely and temperatures are forecast to rise higher this week.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

This could reflect caution on the German logistics company’s part or highlight that the tailwinds bolstering results will be temporary as air freight capacity is restored and the conflict eases, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

She sets the plate down and then eases herself onto a chair.

From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott

The chart shows pressure has eased since earlier in the summer, meaning investors have struggled to keep securing a premium for a perceived lack of Fed credibility.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

That has eased pressure on markets after last week's spike fanned inflation fears and sent the yield on long-dated US Treasuries to their highest since 2007, just before the global financial crisis.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

Under the deal, the U.S. would have lowered tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum from 50% to 25% and eased top-line auto tariffs from 25% to 15%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Understanding who is responsible for what work and to what degree requires consulting a floor plan, a checklist and the booklet: an awkward juggling act that would have been eased by some wall labels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

I eased the square of skin out of my pocket and held it out to her.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Li Auto delivered 30,468 vehicles in July, with the year-over-year pace of decline easing to about 1%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The cost of US borrowing easing and the prospect of more Middle East talks provided a much-needed boost to equities.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

The worry is that market interventions that keep a lid on long-dated Treasurys rates risk easing financial conditions, potentially stoking inflation in the economy, according to Coltman.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

DeepSeek showed the Chinese industry a viable path to boost model performance while easing the demands on chips.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Working quietly on one side of the window, easing the paper off inch by inch, Nadia ended up with a piece that was almost as long as the room was tall.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

• abate
• allay
• ameliorate
• calm
• expedite
• facilitate
• further
• improve
• lessen
• lift
• mitigate
• moderate
• promote
• relax
• relieve
• simplify
• soften
• soothe
• speed