ease
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /iːz/
  • (America) enPR: ēz, IPA: /iz/,
Noun

ease (uncountable)

  1. Ability, the means to do something, particularly:
    1. (obsolete) Opportunity, chance.
    2. Skill, dexterity, facility.
      He played the ukelele with ease.
  2. comfort#Noun|Comfort, a state#Noun|state or quality lacking unpleasantness, particularly:
    1. Freedom from pain#Noun|pain, hardship, and annoyance, sometimes (pejorative, archaic) idleness, sloth.
      She enjoyed the ease of living in a house where the servants did all the work.
    2. Freedom from worry#Noun|worry and concern#Noun|concern; peace; sometimes (pejorative, archaic) indifference.
      The pension set her mind at ease.
    3. Freedom from difficulty.
      He passed all the exams with ease.
    4. Freedom from effort, leisure, rest.
      We took our ease on the patio.
      • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wyfe of Bathes Prologue”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], OCLC 230972125 ↗; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: Printed by [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, OCLC 932884868 ↗, folio xxxvii, recto ↗:
        So that the clerkes be nat with me wroth / I ſaye that they were maked for bothe / This is to ſeyn, for offyce and for ease / Of engendrure, there we nat god diſpleaſe
        So that the clerks be not with me wrathful / I say that they [genitals] were made for both / This is to say, for duty and for ease / Of reproduction, that we not God displease
    5. Freedom from financial effort or worry; affluence.
      His inheritance catapulted him into a life of ease.
    6. Freedom from embarrassment or awkwardness; grace#Noun|grace.
      She dealt with the faculty with combined authority and ease.
  3. Relief, an end#Noun|end to discomfort, particularly:
    1. Followed by of or from: release#Noun|release from or reduction of pain, hardship, or annoyance.
      Take one pill every 12 hours to provide ease from pain.
    2. (euphemistic, obsolete) Release from intestinal discomfort: defecation.
    3. Release from constraint, obligation, or a constrained#Adjective|constrained position#Noun|position.
      At ease, soldier!
    4. (clothing) Additional space#Noun|space provide#Verb|provided to allow greater movement.
      Add some ease to the waist measurement.
  4. (obsolete) A convenience; a luxury.
  5. (obsolete) A relief; an easement.
Synonyms Related terms Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

ease (eases, present participle easing; past and past participle eased)

  1. (transitive) To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
    He eased his conscience by confessing.
    • 1576, George Whetstone, “The Ortchard of Repentance: […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, Diuided into Foure Parts. [...], Imprinted at London: [By H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, OCLC 837515946 ↗; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of Regard, Diuided into Foure Parts. [...] (Illustrations of Early English Poetry; vol. 2, no. 2), London: Privately printed, [1867?], OCLC 706027473 ↗, page 291 ↗:
      And ſure, although it was invented to eaſe his mynde of griefe, there be a number of caveats therein to forewarne other young gentlemen to forstand#English|foreſtand with good government their folowing yl fortunes; {{...}
      Elyse Saugstad, a professional skier, wore a backpack equipped with an air bag, a relatively new and expensive part of the arsenal that backcountry users increasingly carry to ease their minds and increase survival odds in case of an avalanche.
  2. (transitive) To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).
    He loosened his shoe to ease the pain.
  3. (transitive) To give respite to (someone).
    The provision of extra staff eased their workload.
  4. (nautical, transitive) To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.
    We eased the boom vang, then lowered the sail.
  5. (transitive) To reduce the difficulty of (something).
    We had to ease the entry requirements.
  6. (transitive) To move (something) slowly and carefully.
    He eased the cork from the bottle.
  7. (intransitive) To lessen in severity.
    The pain eased overnight.
  8. (intransitive) To proceed with little effort.
    The car eased onto the motorway.
Synonyms Translations
  • German: lindern
  • Russian: успока́ивать
  • Spanish: aliviar
Translations Translations
  • Russian: освобожда́ть
Translations
  • Russian: ослабля́ть
Translations
  • Russian: облегча́ть
Translations
  • Russian: уменьша́ть



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