soothe

[ sooth ]

verb (used with object)

, soothed, sooth·ing.

1. to tranquilize or calm (a person or their emotions); relieve, comfort, or refresh:

   soothing someone's anger;

   to soothe someone with a hot drink.

   Antonyms: roil, upset

2. to mitigate, assuage, or allay, as pain, sorrow, or doubt:

   to soothe sunburned skin.

   Synonyms: mollify, appease, alleviate

verb (used without object)

, soothed, sooth·ing.

1. to exert a calming influence; bring tranquility, ease, or comfort:

   a soft-spoken poem that soothes like a lullaby.

soothe

/ suːð /

verb

1. tr to make calm or tranquil
2. tr to relieve or assuage (pain, longing, etc)
3. intr to bring tranquillity or relief

Derived Forms

• ˈsoother, noun

Other Words From

• soother noun
• self-soothed adjective
• un·soothed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of soothe¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English sothen “to bear witness, confirm, verify,” Old English sōthian “to prove true”; the Modern English sense shift “to verify” becomes “to support (a person's statement),” then “to encourage,” and finally “to calm”; sooth

Word History and Origins

Origin of soothe¹

C16 (in the sense: to mollify): from Old English sōthian to prove; related to Old Norse sanna to assert; see sooth

Synonym Study

See comfort, allay.

Example Sentences

“And to have this adult man that actually seemed interested in talking to me, it was intensely soothing. For the first time in my life, I felt just a little spark of hope.”

From Los Angeles Times

There’s something about the well-educated British accent that can seem, to American ears, both soothing and slightly sinister.

From Los Angeles Times

A former councillor has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after stabbing his wife three times while she soothed their baby.

From BBC

We streamed soothing sights of wildlife such as penguins and meerkats at the San Diego Zoo while the polls were still open.

From Salon

Returning to the trail, with its soothing chorus of crickets, velvety laurel sumac shrubs and feathery wild grasses, something inside me loosened.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• allay
• alleviate
• appease
• assuage
• cool
• mitigate
• mollify
• pacify
• relieve
• soften