assuage
Americanverb (used with object)
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assuages,
present (3rd person singular)
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assuaged,
past participle, past
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assuaging
present participle
verb
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to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
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to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
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to pacify; calm
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assuagesimple
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assuagessimple
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have assuagedperfect
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has assuagedperfect
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am assuagingprogressive
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are assuagingprogressive
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is assuagingprogressive
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have been assuagingperfect progressive
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has been assuagingperfect progressive
Past
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assuagedsimple
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had assuagedperfect
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was assuagingprogressive
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were assuagingprogressive
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had been assuagingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing assuage
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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The Giver
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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.
See Examples For:
The result has left many in Michigan’s Jewish community wary of El-Sayed and looking for outreach from him and his campaign to assuage their concerns.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
At that level of investment, Moore said the “sophisticated third party investor groups” are calling the shots, which should assuage fears that deals are being “purely driven by circular motivations.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The theme park has made outreach into the neighborhood over the years in an attempt to assuage concerns, be it distributing fliers or attending community meetings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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
Hina would quietly give my mom this little victory to assuage her concerns.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Having Castillo atop the rotation certainly assuages many of those feelings.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 5, 2023
She finishes the job, beating it to a pulp, and assuages her guilt by taking home the large, speckled egg she discovers nearby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2022
Their oversimplicity both exploits and assuages that looming sense of collective guilt: They feel true.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2019
Whether the new policy further inflames or assuages the controversy remains to be seen.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2018
Nothing here "excites or assuages emotion:" here is "no magical power of raising phantastick terrour or wild anxiety."
From Lives of the Poets, Volume 1 by Samuel Johnson
But on Friday, the Americans assuaged all of those concerns in a single half of soccer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
That hasn’t assuaged concerns among some that a dot-com-style bubble may be building, especially given the sharp run-up.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
In an instant, Urbina’s fears had been assuaged.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
That was partly assuaged when the cast, made up of up-and-coming talent rather than established names, was announced.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2026
Yet they were always a little hungry, not starving, but with an emptiness inside them that was never quite assuaged.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Given the stock’s retreat over recent months, stronger-than-expected results, amid low expectations, “could go a long way in assuaging several of these investor concerns.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The goal was to provide enterprise customers more powerful tools while assuaging the White House’s concerns that they could be weaponized by bad actors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Earlier this week, the U.S. promised tankers protection through the Persian Gulf, if necessary, assuaging some of the market’s concerns about the effects of a Hormuz chokehold.
From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026
Universities, far from assuaging that constant fear, should fight to make it a reality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2025
During the first months of their marriage, he called Celia every night, his gentle voice assuaging her.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
