ease

B2 Topic:Emotions & Feelings

US /iz/ UK /iːz/ See IPA manual

verb noun Freq #3243

Meanings

1

noun
The state of being able to do something without difficulty.

She passed the exam with ease.
2

verb
To make a pain, problem, or bad feeling less severe.

The medicine helped to ease the pain in his back.
3

verb
To move something slowly and carefully.

He eased the car into the narrow parking space.
4

noun
A comfortable, relaxed state free from worry or trouble.

After retiring, they lived a life of ease.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being able to... easiness facility simplicity

2 verb · to make a pain, problem, or... allay relieve

4 noun · a comfortable, relaxed... comfort

More lessen reduce

Word family

Forms easedeaseseasing

Derived forms dis-easeease-and-comfortease-bredease-lovingease-roomeasefuleaselesseaseneasereasesomeheartseaseill-ease

Related forms disease easiness easy

Common collocations

ease pain Verb + noun

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 t…

*(H)yeh₁- Proto-Indo-European ese Middle English eise Old French ānsa Latin *ansiju frk adiacēns Latin esen Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Emotions & Feelings Actions & Processes

# ease

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** iz
**IPA (UK):** iːz
**Frequency rank:** 3243

## Meanings
1. The state of being able to do something without difficulty.
2. To make a pain, problem, or bad feeling less severe.
3. To move something slowly and carefully.
4. A comfortable, relaxed state free from worry or trouble.

## Examples
- She passed the exam with ease.
- The medicine helped to ease the pain in his back.
- He eased the car into the narrow parking space.
- After retiring, they lived a life of ease.

## Synonyms
- lessen
- reduce

## Derived Forms
- dis-ease
- ease-and-comfort
- ease-bred
- ease-loving
- ease-room
- easeful
- easeless
- easen
- easer
- easesome
- heartsease
- ill-ease

## Related Forms
- disease
- easiness
- easy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *(H)yeh₁-
- Root: ese
- Root: eise
- Root: ānsa
- Root: *ansiju
- Root: adiacēns
- Root: esen

## 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 t…

## AI Etymology
Ease comes 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. In current use, the main senses are “The state of being able to do something without difficulty” and “To make a pain, problem, or bad feeling less severe”.

## Topics
- Emotions & Feelings
- Actions & Processes

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