easing
Variant of ease
ease
definition
ease (ēz)
noun
- freedom from pain, worry, or trouble; comfort
- freedom from stiffness, formality, or awkwardness; natural, easy manner; poise
- freedom from difficulty; facility; adroitness to write with ease
- freedom from poverty; state of being financially secure; affluence
- rest; leisure; relaxation
Etymology: ME ese < OFr aise < VL *adjaces < L adjacens, lying nearby, hence easy to reach: see adjacent
transitive verb eased, easing eas′·ing
- to free from pain, worry, or trouble; comfort
- to lessen or alleviate (pain, anxiety, etc.)
- to make easier; facilitate
- to reduce the strain, tension, or pressure of or on; loosen; slacken
- to reduce (the strain, tension, pressure, etc.) on (a rope, sail, etc.)
- to fit or move by careful shifting, slow pressure, etc. to ease a piano into place
intransitive verb
- to move or be moved by careful shifting, slow pressure, etc.
- to lessen in tension, speed, pain, etc.
- to reduce strain, tension, or pressure: often with up, off, etc.
ease Idioms
at ease
- having no anxiety, pain, or discomfort
- Mil.
- in a relaxed position but maintaining silence and staying in place
- the command to assume this position
ease out
to tactfully persuade (an employee, tenant, etc.) to leave
ease the rudder
or ease the helmNaut. to reduce the angle the rudder makes with the fore-and-aft line so that the vessel will turn more gradually
take one's ease
to relax and be comfortable
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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