easest

Verb

ease (third-person singular simple present eases, present participle easing, simple past and past participle eased)

1. (transitive) To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
   • He eased his conscience by confessing.

   Synonyms:

   assuage, salve

2. (transitive) To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).
   • Sunny / Yesterday my life was filled with rain / Sunny / You smiled at me and really eased the pain1976, Boney M., “Sunny”, in Take the Heat off Me

   Synonyms:

   allay, alleviate, assuage, lessen, reduce

3. (transitive) To give respite to (someone).
   • The provision of extra staff eased their workload.

   Synonyms:

   give someone a break, lay off

4. (transitive) To loosen or slacken the tension on a line.
   • We eased the boom vang, then lowered the sail.

   Synonyms:

   loosen, relax, slacken

5. (transitive) To reduce the difficulty of (something).
   • We had to ease the entry requirements.

   Synonyms:

   facilitate, simplify

6. (transitive) To move (something) slowly and carefully.
   • He eased the cork from the bottle.

   Antonyms:

   maneuver

See all 22 meanings of ease