Nearby Words

assuage

[uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh] Example Sentences Origin

as·suage

[uh-sweyj, uh-sweyzh]
verb (used with object), -suaged, -suag·ing.
1.
to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one's grief; to assuage one's pain.
2.
to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve: to assuage one's hunger.
3.
to soothe, calm, or mollify: to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English aswagen < Old French asouagier < Vulgar Latin *assuāviāre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + -suāviāre, verbal derivative of Latin suāvis agreeable to the taste, pleasant (compare suave; akin to sweet)

as·suage·ment, noun
as·suag·er, noun
un·as·suaged, adjective
un·as·suag·ing, adjective


1. alleviate, lessen.


intensify.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Assuage is a GRE word you need to know.
So is ambiguous. Does it mean:
open to or having several possible meanings or interpretations
to board a ship other vehicle for a journey; to start an enterprise or business
Example Sentences
  • It also agreed to make its secret source code available to some governments in order to assuage security concerns.
  • The authorities have agreed to hold the vote over one day instead of two, to assuage fears of manipulation.
  • To assuage security concerns, each watch is given its own serial number.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
assuage (əˈsweɪdʒ)
 
vb
1.  to soothe, moderate, or relieve (grief, pain, etc)
2.  to give relief to (thirst, appetite, etc); satisfy
3.  to pacify; calm
 
[C14: from Old French assouagier, from Vulgar Latin assuāviāre (unattested) to sweeten, from Latin suāvis pleasant; see suave]
 
as'suagement
 
n
 
as'suager
 
n
 
assuasive
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

assuage
c.1300, from O.Fr. assouagier "alleviate, calm, soothe, pacify," from V.L. *adsuaviare, from L. ad- "to" + suavis "sweet, agreeable" (see sweet).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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