easen

English

Etymology

From ease +‎ -en (verbal suffix).

Verb

easen (third-person singular simple present easens, present participle easening, simple past and past participle easened)

1. (transitive, rare, possibly nonstandard) To make at ease; make easy or easier; (by extension) to soothe; comfort; relieve
   • 1970, Agricultural development and small farmers: a study of Andhra Pradesh:

     Free availability in adequate quantities in markets very,^[sic] closely situated, has easened the situation.

   • 1992, Proceedings of the Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems, volume 2:

     As several electrodes are used, a great effort has been done to reduce the weight of the tail to easen the field work.

   • 1996, Carl Steenstrup, A History of Law in Japan Until 1868, page 160:

     Since this book also aims at scholars of law and history who have no Japanese, I have, in the footnotes, in order to easen the reader's library search, entered authors' names as the authors wrote them, and capitalized Japanese surnames; […]

   • 1997, M. V. Krishna Murthy, India on to New Horizons, page 180:

     In the West, early conjugal relations and dating have greatly helped to easen the situation.

   • 2000, New Technology Japan, volume 28, page 25:

     This grip assembly easens the work of revolving the handle and is designed as a collapsible type to eliminate protrusions and to facilitate the pile extractor conveyance as well as to prevent the handle part from being bent in the event of some […]

   • 2007, Sa'eda Kilani, Against Corruption, page 44:

     Conversely, the 2001 Association Law made great strides for the Yemeni civil society as it easened administrative procedures and offered incentives and tax exemptions to NGOs.

Synonyms

• alleviate, lighten

Anagrams

• Eneas, Nease