soothe
[sooth]
- to tranquilize or calm, as a person or the feelings; relieve, comfort, or refresh: soothing someone's anger; to soothe someone with a hot drink.
- to mitigate, assuage, or allay, as pain, sorrow, or doubt: to soothe sunburned skin.
Show More
- to exert a soothing influence; bring tranquillity, calm, ease, or comfort.
Show More
Origin of soothe
before 950; Middle English sothen to verify, Old English sōthian, equivalent to sōth sooth + -ian infinitive suffix; Modern English sense shift “to verify” > “to support (a person's statement)” > “to encourage” > “to calm”
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
Antonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
mitigateappeaseassuagerelievesoftenalleviatepacifymollifyallaycooltranquilizeconsolehelpsubduelightendulcifyquietstrokehushcheerExamples from the Web for soothed
Contemporary Examples
Her brown-velvet eyes often soothed me, although her eyebrows added to her every demand: “I mean business!”
I also believe the relative quiet on the Palestinian front has soothed Israelis.
She was overcome with guilt, and as she soothed me, she promised herself no harm would ever come to me again.
But a mere nine months is clearly not enough time to have healed his wounds or soothed his anger.
The singing unnerved Butch as well, but he managed to sit still with his eyes closed, as if soothed by the words and music.
Historical Examples
I was so disappointed and hurt and heartsick, and he kissed me and soothed me.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
It was sultry, and there was something in the atmosphere that at once threatened and soothed.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
Be soothed, my son; I meant not to tear the bandage from thy wounds.
Calderon The CourtierEdward Bulwer-Lytton
The gentle August night had cooled and soothed the dusty atmosphere.
The Slave Of The LampHenry Seton Merriman
"Sweetheart, you mustn't fret," she soothed, in motherly fashion.
The Gentleman From IndianaBooth Tarkington
soothe
- (tr) to make calm or tranquil
- (tr) to relieve or assuage (pain, longing, etc)
- (intr) to bring tranquillity or relief
Show More
Word Origin
C16 (in the sense: to mollify): from Old English sōthian to prove; related to Old Norse sanna to assert; see sooth
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
Word Origin and History for soothed
soothe
v.
Old English soðian "show to be true," from soð "true" (see sooth). Sense of "quiet, comfort, mollify" is first recorded 1690s, via notion of "to assuage one by asserting that what he says is true" (i.e. to be a yes-man), a sense attested from 1560s (and cf. Old English gesoð "a parasite, flatterer"). Meaning "reduce the intensity" (of a pain, etc.) is from 1711. Related: Soothed; soothing.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper