ease

(ēz)

1. The condition of being comfortable or relieved.
2. a. Freedom from pain, worry, or agitation: Her mind was at ease knowing that the children were safe.
   b. Freedom from constraint or embarrassment; naturalness.
3. a. Freedom from difficulty, hardship, or effort: rose through the ranks with apparent ease.
   b. Readiness or dexterity in performance; facility: a pianist who played the sonata with ease.
4. Freedom from financial difficulty; affluence: a life of luxury and ease.
5. A state of rest, relaxation, or leisure: He took his ease by the pond.

1. To free from pain, worry, or agitation: eased his conscience by returning the stolen money.
2. a. To lessen the discomfort or pain of: shifted position to ease her back.
   b. To alleviate; assuage: prescribed a drug to ease the pain.
3. To give respite from: eased the staff's burden by hiring more people.
4. To slacken the strain, pressure, or tension of; loosen: ease off a cable.
5. To reduce the difficulty or trouble of: eased the entrance requirements.
6. To move or maneuver slowly and carefully: eased the car into a narrow space; eased the director out of office.

1. To lessen, as in discomfort, pressure, or stress: pain that never eased.
2. To move or proceed with little effort: eased through life doing as little as possible.