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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

ease.

Lack of difficulty; the ability to do something easily.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/iːz/UK/iz/US
  1. Lack of difficulty; the ability to do something easily.

    uncountable · usually
    He played the ukelele with ease.
    The ease of lifting the weight, despite lack of skill, came from her pure strength.
  2. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness Freedom from pain, hardship, and annoyance, sometimes (derogatory, archaic) idleness, sloth.

    uncountable · usually
    She enjoyed the ease of living in a house where the servants did all the work.
  3. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness Freedom from worry and concern; peace; sometimes (derogatory, archaic) indifference.

    uncountable · usually
    The pension set her mind at ease.
  4. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness Freedom from effort; leisure, rest.

    uncountable · usually
    We took our ease on the patio.
  5. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness Freedom from financial effort or worry; affluence.

    uncountable · usually
    His inheritance catapulted him into a life of ease.
  6. Comfort, a state or quality lacking unpleasantness Freedom from embarrassment or awkwardness; grace.

    uncountable · usually
    She dealt with the faculty with combined authority and ease.
  7. Relief, an end to discomfort Followed by of or from: release from or reduction of pain, hardship, or annoyance.

    uncountable · usually
    Take one pill every 12 hours to provide ease from pain.
  8. Relief, an end to discomfort Release from intestinal discomfort: defecation.

    euphemistic · obsolete · uncountable · usually
  9. Relief, an end to discomfort Release from constraint, obligation, or a constrained position.

    uncountable · usually
    At ease, soldier!
  10. Relief, an end to discomfort Additional space provided to allow greater movement.

    uncountable · usually
    Add some ease to the waist measurement.
  11. A convenience; a luxury.

    obsolete · uncountable · usually
  12. A relief; an easement.

    obsolete · uncountable · usually
Where this word comes from

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. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English īeþe (“easy”), Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐌹 (azēti, “ease; pleasure”), *𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*azēts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). See also eath. The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.

verb/iːz/UK/iz/US
  1. To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.

    transitive
    He eased his conscience by confessing.
  2. To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).

    transitive
  3. To give respite to (someone).

    transitive
    The provision of extra staff eased their workload.
  4. To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.

    transitive
    We eased the boom vang, then lowered the sail.
  5. To reduce the difficulty of (something).

    transitive
    We had to ease the entry requirements.
  6. To move (something) slowly and carefully.

    transitive
    He eased the cork from the bottle.
  7. To lessen in intensity.

    intransitive
    The pain eased overnight.
  8. To proceed with little effort.

    intransitive
    The car eased onto the motorway.
  9. To reduce speed.

  10. To take something from (a person), especially by robbery.

    archaic · slang · transitive
Where this word comes from

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. Alternatively, possibly from a non-Latin source such as Germanic or Celtic on the basis of the conflicting forms which appear in various Romance languages. Compare Old English īeþe (“easy”), Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐌹 (azēti, “ease; pleasure”), *𐌰𐌶𐌴𐍄𐍃 (*azēts, “easy”), Breton eaz, ez (“easy”), Irish adhais (“easy; leisure”). See also eath. The verb is from Middle English esen, ultimately of the same origin.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.