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View synonyms for

ease

[eez]

noun

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

    to enjoy one's ease.

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

    to be at ease about one's health.

    Synonyms: , , ,
    Antonyms:
  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: ,
    Antonyms: , ,


verb (used with object)

eased, easing 
  1. to free from anxiety or care.

    to ease one's mind.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  2. to mitigate, lighten, or lessen.

    to ease pain.

    Synonyms: , , , ,
  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)

eased, easing 
  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. 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.

ease

/ ː /

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

“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

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. archaicto urinate or defecate

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

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • self-ease noun
  • self-easing adjective
  • well-eased adjective
  • ˈ𲹲 noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ease1

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 ᲹŧԲ adjacent; verb ultimately derivative of the noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ease1

C13: from Old French aise ease, opportunity, from Latin ᲹŧԲ neighbouring (area); see adjacent
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Idioms and Phrases

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

In addition to the idioms beginning with ease, also see at ease; ill at ease. Also see under easily; easy.
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Synonym Study

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.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

However, Maria kept Anisimova on the move, visibly frustrating her, and a netted forehand gave Maria the break back, before she served out the set with ease.

From

So, with pressures on real police growing, is there room for private firms to help ease the load - or do so-called "private bobbies" blur the lines between police and profit?

From

Russell eased Bath nerves with a penalty but neither side could get into their flow in the midst of a stuttering start.

From

As Lucy so astutely puts it, opulence and a generalized sense of ease are great, but love has to be on the table, too.

From

Let’s hope the elder Pullman’s Lone Starr has eased into retirement and Pullman the Younger gets to play a younger version of the Luke Skywalker-scented hero.

From

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Definitions 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.

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