əˈswāj verb
also -āzh or -äzh
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English aswagen, from Old French assouagier, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin assuaviare, adsuaviare, from Latin ad- + (assumed) Vulgar Latin -suaviare (from Latin suavis sweet) — more at sweet
transitive verb
1. : to reduce the intensity of : make less severe or violent : allay , mitigate , ease
stroking her right wrist with her left hand as though to assuage the ache — Jean Stafford
forgetting her own sorrow in her effort to assuage his — B.A.Williams
2. : to reduce to a state of peace, calm, or quiet : mollify , pacify
she found herself … pleasantly assuaged by the sense of anonymity which enveloped her — Helen Howe
3. : to put an end to by satisfying : appease , quench
surrounded with more than enough to assuage its hunger — F.G.Kay
4. obsolete : to reduce especially in size : diminish
intransitive verb
archaic : to grow less : abate , subside
God made a wind to pass over the earth and the waters assuaged — Gen 8: 1 (Authorized Version)
Synonyms: see relieve