freedom from labor, pain, or physical annoyance; tranquil rest; comfort: to enjoy one's ease.
freedom from concern, anxiety, or solicitude; a quiet state of mind: to be at ease about one's health.
freedom from difficulty or great effort; facility: It can be done with ease.
freedom from financial need; plenty: a life of ease on a moderate income.
freedom from stiffness, constraint, or formality; unaffectedness: ease of manner; the ease and elegance of her poetry.
verb (used with object),eased,eas·ing.
to free from anxiety or care: to ease one's mind.
to mitigate, lighten, or lessen: to ease pain.
to release from pressure, tension, or the like.
to move or shift with great care: to ease a car into a narrow parking space.
to render less difficult; facilitate: I'll help if it will ease your job.
to provide (an architectural member) with an easement.
Shipbuilding. to trim (a timber of a wooden hull) so as to fair its surface into the desired form of the hull.
Nautical.
to bring (the helm or rudder of a vessel) slowly amidships.
to bring the head of (a vessel) into the wind.
to slacken or lessen the hold upon (a rope).
to lessen the hold of (the brake of a windlass).
verb (used without object),eased,eas·ing.
to abate in severity, pressure, tension, etc. (often followed by off or up).
to become less painful, burdensome, etc.
to move, shift, or be moved or be shifted with great care.
Verb Phrases
ease out,to remove from a position of authority, a job, or the like, especially by methods intended to be tactful: He was eased out as division head to make way for the boss's nephew.
Idioms for ease
at ease, Military. a position of rest in which soldiers may relax but may not leave their places or talk.
Origin of ease
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English ese, eise<Anglo-French ese,Old French aise, eise comfort, convenience <Vulgar Latin *adjace(m), accusative of *adjacēs vicinity (compare Medieval Latin in aiace in (the) vicinity), the regular outcome of Latin adjacēnsadjacent, taken in VL as a noun of the type nūbēs, accusative nūbem cloud; (v.) Middle English esen<Anglo-French e(i)ser,Old French aisier, derivative of the noun
1. Ease,comfort refer to a sense of relaxation or of well-being. Ease implies a relaxed condition with an absence of effort or pressure: a life of ease.Comfort suggests a sense of well-being, along with ease, which produces a quiet happiness and contentment: comfort in one's old age.
That ease means that creators often have multiple Carrds under their belt, creating a sub-economy of design tips and art.
The internet of protest is being built on single-page websites|Tanya Basu|August 27, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Cellebrite says it can “unlock devices with ease” by finding vulnerabilities in targeted smartphones and exploiting them.
Israeli phone hacking company faces court fight over sales to Hong Kong|Patrick O'Neill|August 25, 2020|MIT Technology Review
“The ease with which companies can be incorporated under state law, and how little information is generally required about the company’s owners or activities, raises concerns about a lack of transparency,” the report said.
Federal Prosecutors Have Steve Bannon’s Murky Nonprofit in Their Sights|by Yeganeh Torbati|August 24, 2020|ProPublica
Unlike masks, which can fall off the ears, outdoor runners and cyclists enjoy the ease of pulling buffs up as they pass the occasional dog-walker or fellow jogger, and then down again once they’re alone.
Don’t give up on your buff just yet|Katherine Ellen Foley|August 12, 2020|Quartz
Blow-by drives, where a player dribbles past a defender with ease, are also up slightly.
The Suns And Mavs Shouldn’t Have Surprised Us … But We Didn’t See T.J. Warren Coming|Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 5, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Normality, domesticity, ease, in the blazing Arizona desert.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As it stands, the deal will ease the travel ban and trade embargo, and make it easier for Americans to do business in Cuba.
Cuba Is A Kleptocracy, Not Communist|Romina Ruiz-Goiriena|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She appears calmer, more at ease, since the last time I sat down with her in 2008.
Annie Lennox Doesn’t Give a Damn What You Think|Itay Hod|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Baugh hopped out and towed it a block away with practiced speed and ease.
The President and the Tow Truck Driver|Michael Daly|September 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If there is no obstacle, they would enjoy the ease that is shown to everyone else.
Turkey Takes in ‘Terrorists’ from the Muslim Brotherhood|Thomas Seibert|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is by the alternate movement of these mandibles that the caterpillars devour the leaves with so much greediness and ease.
The Insect World|Louis Figuier
However, I suspect that they were more welcome to us youngsters than to our mothers who never seemed quite at ease with them.
Some Pioneers and Pilgrims on the Prairies of Dakota|John B. Reese
Cheapness of construction and ease of removing trellis material and using it again.
American Grape Training|Liberty Hyde (L.H.) Bailey
He read these signs with the ease of an experienced mariner.
The Triumph of John Kars|Ridgwell Cullum
The main bearing bosses were split at a 45 angle for ease of assembly.
The Wright Brothers' Engines and Their Design|Leonard S. Hobbs.
British Dictionary definitions for ease
ease
/ (iːz) /
noun
freedom from discomfort, worry, or anxiety
lack of difficulty, labour, or awkwardness; facility
rest, leisure, or relaxation
freedom from poverty or financial embarrassment; affluencea life of ease
lack of restraint, embarrassment, or stiffnesshis ease of manner disarmed us
at easemilitary
(of a standing soldier, etc) in a relaxed position with the feet apart and hands linked behind the back
a command to adopt such a position
in a relaxed attitude or frame of mind
verb
to make or become less burdensome
(tr)to relieve (a person) of worry or care; comfort
(tr)to make comfortable or give rest to
(tr)to make less difficult; facilitate
to move or cause to move into, out of, etc, with careful manipulationto ease a car into a narrow space
(when intr, often foll by off or up) to lessen or cause to lessen in severity, pressure, tension, or strain; slacken, loosen, or abate
ease oneselforease naturearchaic, euphemisticto urinate or defecate
ease the helmnauticalto relieve the pressure on the rudder of a vessel, esp by bringing the bow into the wind
Derived forms of ease
easer, noun
Word Origin for ease
C13: from Old French aise ease, opportunity, from Latin adjacēns neighbouring (area); see adjacent