Link Centre Dictionary

ease

UK/iːz/ US/iz/ common slang
verb (4) noun (5)

verb

1.

move gently or carefully

  • “He eased himself into the chair”
2.

lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate

  • “ease the pain in your legs”
Synonyms
3.

make easier

  • “you could facilitate the process by sharing your knowledge”
Synonyms
4.

lessen the intensity of or calm

  • “The news eased my conscience”
  • “still the fears”
Synonyms

noun

1.

freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort

  • “he rose through the ranks with apparent ease”
  • “they put it into containers for ease of transportation”
  • “the very easiness of the deed held her back”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

a freedom from financial difficulty that promotes a comfortable state

  • “a life of luxury and ease”
  • “he had all the material comforts of this world”
Synonyms
3.

the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress)

  • “he enjoyed his relief from responsibility”
  • “getting it off his conscience gave him some ease”
Synonyms
4.

freedom from constraint or embarrassment

  • “I am never at ease with strangers”
Synonyms
5.

freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility)

  • “took his repose by the swimming pool”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English ese, eise, aise, from Anglo-Norman ese (“ease”), from Old French eise, aise (“elbow room; opportunity”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Apparently related to Provençal ais, Italian agio and asio, Sicilian aciu and Portuguese azo. Sometimes ascribed to Vulgar Latin *āsia or *āsium, possibly from Latin ānsa (“handle, haft”) or Frankish *ansiju (“handle, loophole, eyelet; cup-handle; arms akimbo, elbow room”), but more often derived from Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjacēns (“adjacent, neighbouring”), present participle of adjaceō (“lie next to, border on”), though the forms and senses are difficult to trace clearly. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English īeþe (“easy”), Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐌹 (azēti, “ease; pleasure”), *𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*azēts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). See also eath. The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.

Phrases

  • at ease
  • at one's ease
  • chapel of ease
  • church of ease
  • closet of ease
  • court of ease
  • do ease
  • ease down
  • ease off
  • ease one's mind
  • ease oneself
  • ease up

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.