Assuage: meaning, definitions and examples

Used to describe the process of making an unpleasant feeling less intense. Often associated with emotional or psychological relief.

• She tried to assuage her guilt by doing something good for others.
• His words could not assuage her sorrow.

Commonly used to refer to reducing or removing pain, discomfort, or stress. Applicable to both physical and emotional states.

• The ice pack should relieve the swelling.
• She was relieved to hear that her test results were normal.

Used when talking about reducing pain or suffering, especially physical pain or discomfort. Also used for lessening difficult situations.

• The medication helped to alleviate her chronic pain.
• Efforts to alleviate poverty in the region are ongoing.

Used in both physical and emotional contexts to imply making something less severe or serious. Commonly used in everyday conversation.

• She took a deep breath to ease her anxiety.
• The new policies helped to ease the financial burden on students.

Often used in formal or technical contexts to describe reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something, especially in legal, environmental, or policy language.

• Measures need to be taken to mitigate the impact of climate change.
• The defendant’s difficult childhood could mitigate his sentence.

Used to describe the action of calming someone down or restoring peace in a situation. Usually applied to emotional states or conflicts.

• She managed to pacify the crying baby with a lullaby.
• Authorities worked to pacify the protestors.