ease
Forms
- Plural
- eases
- present (v1)
- ease
- past (v2)
- eased
- past participle (v3)
- eased
- present participle
- easing
- 3rd person singular
- eases
Definitions
1.Lack of difficulty; the ability to do something easily.
- He played the ukelele with ease.
- The ease with which she passed all the exams surprised her.
- The ease of lifting the weight, despite lack of skill, came from her pure strength.
2.Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness
- We took our ease on the patio.
- The pension set her mind at ease.
- His inheritance catapulted him into a life of ease.
3.Relief, an end to discomfort
- Add some ease to the waist measurement.
- Take one pill every 12 hours to provide ease from pain.
1.To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
- He eased his conscience by confessing.
2.To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).
3.To give respite to (someone).
- The provision of extra staff eased their workload.
- An extra rush-hour train has eased overcrowding of the former 5.39 p.m. to Salisbury; this now leaves at 5.43 and an additional electric service to Alton departs at 5.39 p.m.
4.To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.
- We eased the boom vang, then lowered the sail.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3890
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English ese, eise, aise, from Anglo-Norman ese (“ease”), from Old French eise, aise (“elbow room; opportunity”), of uncertain and obscure origin. Apparently related to Provençal ais, Italian agio and asio, Sicilian aciu and Portuguese azo. Sometimes ascribed to Vulgar Latin *āsia or *āsium, possibly from Latin ānsa (“handle, haft”) or Frankish *ansiju (“handle, loophole, eyelet; cup-handle; arms akimbo, elbow room”), but more often derived from Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), from Latin adjacēns (“adjacent, neighbouring”), present participle of adjaceō (“lie next to, border on”), though the forms and senses are difficult to trace clearly.