Definition of: ease

(ēz) noun
1. Freedom from pain, agitation, or perplexity; comfort.
2. Freedom from or absence of apparent effort; facility.
3. Freedom from affectation or constraint.
—v. eased, eas·ing v.t.
1. To relieve the mentalor physical pain or oppression of; comfort.
2. To make less painful or oppressive: This will ease your pain.
3. To lessen the pressure, weight, tension, etc., of: to ease an axle.
4. To move, lower, or put in place gradually and with care.
5. Colloq. To rob: with of: a humorous usage: He was eased of his wallet.
6. Rare To facilitate.
—v.i.
7. To diminish in severity, speed, etc.: often with up or off: The pain eased.
—to ease away (or off) To move away slightly, as one ship from another.
—to ease the helm Naut. To put the helm a trifle to midships so as to reduce the strain on the rudder. [<OF aise <LL adjacens, -entis neighboring. See ADJACENT.]
—ease′ful·ly adverb
—ease′ful·ness noun Synonyms (noun): easiness, expertness, facility, knack, readiness. Ease may be either of condition or of action; facility is always of action; readiness is of action or of expected action. One lives at ease who has no pressing cares; one stands at ease, moves or speaks with ease, when wholly without restraint. Facility is always active; readiness may be active or passive; the speaker has facility of expression, readiness of wit. Ease of action may imply merely the possession of ample power; facility always implies practice and skill. Readiness in the active sense includes much of the meaning of ease with the added idea of promptness or alertness. Easiness applies to the thing done, rather than to the doer. Expertness applies to the more mechanical processes of body and mind; we speak of the readiness of an orator, but of the expertness of a gymnast. Compare COMFORTABLE, DEXTERITY, POWER. Antonyms: annoyance, awkwardness, constraint, difficulty, discomfort, disquiet, trouble, uneasiness, vexation, worry.