easing

Variant of ease

noun

  1. freedom from pain, worry, or trouble; comfort
  2. freedom from stiffness, formality, or awkwardness; natural, easy manner; poise
  3. freedom from difficulty; facility; adroitness: to write with ease
  4. freedom from poverty; state of being financially secure; affluence
  5. rest; leisure; relaxation

Origin: ME ese < OFr aise < VL *adjaces < L adjacens, lying nearby, hence easy to reach: see adjacent

transitive verb eased, easing

  1. to free from pain, worry, or trouble; comfort
  2. to lessen or alleviate (pain, anxiety, etc.)
  3. to make easier; facilitate
    1. to reduce the strain, tension, or pressure of or on; loosen; slacken
    2. to reduce (the strain, tension, pressure, etc.) on (a rope, sail, etc.)
  4. to fit or move by careful shifting, slow pressure, etc.: to ease a piano into place

intransitive verb

  1. to move or be moved by careful shifting, slow pressure, etc.
  2. to lessen in tension, speed, pain, etc.
  3. to reduce strain, tension, or pressure: often with up, off, etc.
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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