lexicow

ease

/iːz//iːz/·verb

make something less severe, difficult, or uncomfortable, gently and by degrees

I watch a man stroll past with a tower of boxes stacked higher than he is tall balanced on his upraised hands, grinning right at me. By rights he should be buckling and inching along, but he steps along with a little bounce and a whole melody whistling off into the air, as untroubled as if his arms were empty. Once the tower tips and I brace for the crash — he flicks it upright with a finger and never loses the beat. The whole impossible load might as well be a stack of empty hatboxes.
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Definition

To ease something is to make it less severe, difficult, or uncomfortable — gently and by degrees rather than all at once. You ease pressure, pain, tension, or congestion: the unwelcome thing loosens its grip a little at a time. It is an everyday, gentle word, softer and less formal than alleviate or mitigate, and it works both ways — you can ease a burden, or a pain can ease on its own. It also means to move something slowly and carefully, as in to ease into a new role.

Examples

  • Government measures to ease the pressure on overcrowded hospitals slowly began to take effect.
  • A few minutes of stretching eased the tension in her shoulders before the interview.
  • He eased the car into the narrow space, careful not to scrape the wall.

Collocations

ease the pressure·ease tension·ease congestion·ease restrictions·ease into a role·ease the pain

Synonyms

relieve·alleviate·lessen·soothe·mitigate

Antonyms

aggravate·exacerbate·worsen·tighten

Word family

easy (adjective)·easily (adverb)·easing (noun)

In TOEFL & IELTS

A versatile, everyday verb for a gradual reduction, useful across trend and process writing: 'ease the pressure', 'ease congestion', 'ease restrictions'. It works transitively (measures ease the burden) and intransitively (the pain eased), which makes it flexible in Writing Task 1 trends and Task 2 solutions. Keep its register in mind: ease is gentler and less formal than alleviate or mitigate, so reach for those when the tone is academic and for ease when describing a steady, natural loosening. The phrase 'ease into' adds the sense of moving slowly and carefully.