Synonyms

assuage

American

[uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh] / əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪʒ /

verb (used with object)

to make milder or less severe; alleviate; ease; mitigate.

to assuage one's grief;
to assuage one's pain.

Synonyms:

relieve, lessen, diminish, allay
to appease; satisfy; sate.

to assuage one's hunger.
to soothe, calm, or mollify.

to assuage his fears;
to assuage her anger.

assuage British

/ əˈsweɪdʒ, əˈsweɪsɪv /

verb

to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
to pacify; calm

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Present

Past

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Etymology

Origin of assuage

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English aswagen, from Old French asouagier, from unrecorded Vulgar Latin assuāviāre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + -suāviāre, verbal derivative of Latin suāvis “agreeable to the taste, pleasant” ( cf. suave; akin to sweet )

Explanation

If you assuage an unpleasant feeling, you make it go away. Assuaging your hunger by eating a bag of marshmallows may cause you other unpleasant feelings. The most common things that we assuage are fears, concerns, guilt, grief, anxiety, and anger. That makes a lot of sense — these are all things we seek relief from. The word comes from Old French assouagier, from the Latin root suavis, "sweet" — think of adding a bit of honey to something unpleasant. A word with a similar meaning is mollify.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The changes also help to assuage potential anxiety operators might have felt about disregarding state and local laws and the lawsuits that result from that disregard for the law.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2026

That could assuage ECB rate setters who fear the energy shock since the start of the Iran war could lead to more persistent second-round inflationary effects, such as through increased wage demands.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

But that statement has done little to assuage the rumours, with supporters even interrupting a June city council meeting in American Fork City to accuse the police of misconduct.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026

In a move to bolster its business offerings and assuage investor concerns about AI making some software offerings obsolete, Salesforce said it had agreed to acquire Fin, formerly known as Intercom.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

“This is to assuage our conscience, darling,” she would explain to Blanca.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023