ease

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The condition of being comfortable or relieved.
2. n. Freedom from pain, worry, or agitation: Her mind was at ease knowing that the children were safe.
3. n. Freedom from constraint or embarrassment; naturalness.
4. n. Freedom from difficulty, hardship, or effort: rose through the ranks with apparent ease.
5. n. Readiness or dexterity in performance; facility: a pianist who played the sonata with ease.
6. n. Freedom from financial difficulty; affluence: a life of luxury and ease.
7. n. A state of rest, relaxation, or leisure: He took his ease by the pond.
8. v. To free from pain, worry, or agitation: eased his conscience by returning the stolen money.
9. v. To lessen the discomfort or pain of: shifted position to ease her back.
10. v. To alleviate; assuage: prescribed a drug to ease the pain.
11. v. To give respite from: eased the staff's burden by hiring more people.
12. v. To slacken the strain, pressure, or tension of; loosen: ease off a cable.
13. v. To reduce the difficulty or trouble of: eased the entrance requirements.
14. v. To move or maneuver slowly and carefully: eased the car into a narrow space; eased the director out of office.
15. v. To lessen, as in discomfort, pressure, or stress: pain that never eased.
16. v. To move or proceed with little effort: eased through life doing as little as possible.
17. idiom. at ease In a relaxed position, especially standing silently at rest with the right foot stationary: put the soldiers at ease while waiting for inspection.
18. idiom. at ease Used as a command for troops to assume a relaxed position.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. An undisturbed state of the body; freedom from labor, pain, or physical annoyance of any kind; tranquil rest; physical comfort: as, he sits at his ease; to take one's ease.
2. n. A quiet state of the mind; freedom from concern, anxiety, solicitude, or anything that frets or ruffles the mind; tranquillity.
3. n. Hence Comfort afforded or provided; satisfaction; relief; entertainment; accommodation.
4. n. Facility; freedom from difficulty or great labor: as, it can be done with great ease.
5. n. Freedom from stiffness, coṅstraint, or formality; unaffectedness: as, ease of style; ease of manner.
6. To relieve or free from pain or bodily disquiet or annoyance; give rest or relief to; make comfortable.
7. To free from anxiety, care, or mental disturbance: as, the late news has eased my mind.
8. To release from pressure or tension; lessen or moderate the tension, tightness, weight, closeness, speed, etc., of, as by slacking, lifting slightly, shifting a little, etc.: sometimes with off: as, to ease a ship in a seaway by putting down the helm, or by throwing some cargo overboard; to ease a bar or a nut in machinery.
9. To relieve, as by the removal of a burden or an encumbrance; remove from, as a burden: with of before the thing removed: as, to ease a porter of his load.
10. To mitigate; alleviate; assuage; allay; abate or remove in part, as any burden, pain, grief, anxiety, or disturbance.
11. To render less difficult; facilitate.
12. Synonyms To quiet, calm, tranquilize, still, pacify.
13. To disburden, disencumber.

Wiktionary

1. n. The state of being comfortable or free from stress.
2. n. Freedom from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
3. n. Freedom from effort, difficulty or hardship.
4. n. Dexterity or facility.
5. n. Affluence and freedom from financial problems.
6. n. Relaxation, rest and leisure.
7. n. clothing Additional space to allow movement within a garment.
8. v. transitive To free (something) from pain, worry, agitation, etc.
9. v. transitive To alleviate, assuage or lessen (pain).
10. v. transitive To give respite to (someone).
11. v. transitive To loosen or slacken the tension on (something).
12. v. transitive To reduce the difficulty of (something).
13. v. transitive To move (something) slowly and carefully.
14. v. intransitive To lessen in severity.
15. v. intransitive To proceed with little effort.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. obsolete Satisfaction; pleasure; hence, accommodation; entertainment.
2. n. Freedom from anything that pains or troubles; as: (a) Relief from labor or effort; rest; quiet; relaxation.
3. n. Freedom from care, solicitude, or anything that annoys or disquiets; tranquillity; peace; comfort; security; as, ease of mind.
4. n. Freedom from constraint, formality, difficulty, embarrassment, etc.; facility; liberty; naturalness; -- said of manner, style, etc..
5. v. To free from anything that pains, disquiets, or oppresses; to relieve from toil or care; to give rest, repose, or tranquillity to; -- often with of
6. v. To render less painful or oppressive; to mitigate; to alleviate.
7. v. To release from pressure or restraint; to move gently; to lift slightly; to shift a little.
8. v. obsolete To entertain; to furnish with accommodations.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a freedom from financial difficulty that promotes a comfortable state
2. v. move gently or carefully
3. n. freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
4. v. lessen the intensity of or calm
5. n. the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress)
6. n. freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility)
7. n. freedom from constraint or embarrassment
8. v. make easier
9. v. lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate.