Synonyms for allay
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Assuage — to make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm
assuage, appease, soothe, pacify, mollify, quell, calm, soften, subdue, quiet, settle, lay, compose, lull, temper, smother, hush, solace, moderate, blunt, cool, dull
Definitions
- v. 1
To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm.
to allay popular excitement
- v. 2
To alleviate; to abate; to mitigate.
to allay the severity of affliction or the bitterness of adversity
Related words
- Word family
- allayer
Forms
- Past participle
- allayed
e.g. allayed → assuaged, appeased, soothed, pacified…
Choose the right word
Allay and alleviate are closely kindred in signification, and have been often interchanged in usage. But, in strictness, to allay is to lay to rest, quiet or soothe that which is excited; to alleviate, on the other hand, is to lighten a burden.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- appease Only a sincere apology will appease my anger.
- soothe I'll have to do something to soothe away this pain.
- pacify Tom was very aggressive again. They had to pacify him.
- assuage This medicine will assuage the pain.
- alleviate How can Algeria alleviate the impact of inflation?
- lessen We had to lessen the impact of the erratic supplies.
By length
- 3 letters
- lay1
- 4 letters
- cool1, calm1, ease1, dull1, damp1, hush1, lull1
- 5 letters
- still1, quiet2, blunt1, quell1, abate2, slake
- 6 letters
- reduce2, settle2, temper2, weaken2, soften2, lessen2, solace2, soothe1, subdue2, quench1, pacify3
- 7 letters
- relieve2, compose2, appease2, smother2, assuage2, mollify3, slacken2, chasten2
- 8 letters
- moderate3, mitigate3, diminish3, restrain2, palliate, attemper, attempre
- 9 letters
- alleviate4, extenuate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (quiet2 = 2 syllables).