assuage

[ uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh ]
/ əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪʒ /

verb (used with object), as·suaged, as·suag·ing.

to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one's grief; to assuage one's pain.
to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve: to assuage one's hunger.
to soothe, calm, or mollify: to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger.

Origin of assuage

1250–1300; Middle English aswagen < Old French asouagier < Vulgar Latin *assuāviāre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + -suāviāre, verbal derivative of Latin suāvis agreeable to the taste, pleasant (cf. suave; akin to sweet)

OTHER WORDS FROM assuage

as·suage·ment, noun as·suag·er, noun un·as·suaged, adjective un·as·suag·ing, adjective

Words nearby assuage

Example sentences from the Web for assuage

British Dictionary definitions for assuage

assuage
/ (əˈsweɪdʒ) /

verb (tr)

to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
to pacify; calm

Derived forms of assuage

assuagement, noun assuager, noun assuasive (əˈsweɪsɪv), adjective

Word Origin for assuage

C14: from Old French assouagier, from Vulgar Latin assuāviāre (unattested) to sweeten, from Latin suāvis pleasant; see suave