soothe

English

Etymology

From Middle English sothen (“to verify, prove the validity of”), from Old English sōþian (“to verify, prove, confirm, bear witness to”), from Proto-Germanic *sanþōną (“to prove, certify, acknowledge, testify”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Cognate with Danish sande (“to verify”), Swedish sanna (“to verify”), Icelandic sanna (“to verify”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌸𐌾𐌰𐌽 (suþjan), 𐍃𐌿𐌸𐌾𐍉𐌽 (suþjōn, “to soothe”). See also: sooth.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /suːð/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːð

Verb

soothe (third-person singular simple present soothes, present participle soothing, simple past and past participle soothed)

1. (transitive) To restore to ease, comfort, or tranquility; relieve; calm; quiet; refresh.
   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Andros Townsend calms England's nerves in taming of Montenegro (in The Guardian, 11 October 2013)[1]

     Yet Wayne Rooney scored at a good time, three minutes after the restart, to soothe any gathering nerves and the night can ultimately be chalked off as one of the finest occasions of Hodgson's 17 months in the job.

2. (transitive) To allay; assuage; mitigate; soften.
3. (transitive, rare) To smooth over; render less obnoxious.
4. (transitive) To calm or placate someone or some situation.
5. (transitive) To ease or relieve pain or suffering.
   • 1976, The Wurzels, I Am A Cider Drinker

     I am a cider drinker,

     I drinks it all of the day,

     I am a cider drinker,

     it soothes all me troubles away,

6. (intransitive) To temporise by assent, concession, flattery, or cajolery.
7. (intransitive) To bring comfort or relief.
8. (transitive) To keep in good humour; wheedle; cajole; flatter.
9. (transitive, obsolete) To prove true; verify; confirm as true.
10. (transitive, obsolete) To confirm the statements of; maintain the truthfulness of (a person); bear out.
11. (transitive, obsolete) To assent to; yield to; humour by agreement or concession.

Synonyms

• (humour by agreement or concession): comply, give way; See also Thesaurus:accede

Derived terms

• soothing, soothsayer

Translations

to restore to ease

• Czech: uklidnit pf, uklidňovat impf, ukonejšit pf, konejšit impf,zklidnit pf, zklidňovat impf
• Finnish: lepyttää (fi), lepytellä (fi)
• French: apaiser (fr)

• Italian: calmare (it)
• Maori: whakanene, mamahu

to calm or placate

• Catalan: calmar (ca)
• Czech: konejšit impf, ukonejšit pf
• Finnish: tyynnyttää (fi)
• French: apaiser (fr), calmer (fr)
• German: besänftigen (de), beruhigen (de)
• Italian: placare (it)
• Latin: pācō (la)

• Maori: whakanene, mamahu
• Norwegian: berolige
• Portuguese: acalmar (pt)
• Romanian: alina (ro), domoli (ro), liniști (ro), potoli (ro)
• Russian: умиротворя́ть (ru) impf (umirotvorjátʹ), умиротвори́ть (ru) pf (umirotvorítʹ), успока́ивать (ru) impf (uspokáivatʹ), успоко́ить (ru) pf (uspokóitʹ)
• Spanish: calmar (es), serenar (es)
• Turkish: sakinleştirmek (tr), yatıştırmak (tr), dindirmek (tr)

to ease or relieve pain

• Czech: ulevit (cs) pf, ulevovat impf, ukonejšit pf, konejšit impf, utěšit pf,utěšovat impf
• Finnish: lievittää (fi)
• French: soulager (fr)
• German: lindern (de)
• Indonesian: melegakan (id)
• Italian: lenire (it), alleviare (it), mitigare (it)
• Latin: lēniō
• Maori: mamahu

• Polish: koić (pl) impf, ukoić (pl) pf, uspokajać (pl) impf, uspokoić (pl) pf
• Portuguese: aliviar (pt)
• Russian: облегча́ть (ru) impf (oblexčátʹ), обле́гчить (ru) pf (obléxčitʹ)
• Spanish: aliviar (es)
• Swedish: lindra (sv)
• Turkish: dindirmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: полегшувати (polehšuvaty)

to bring comfort or relief

• Czech: ulevit (cs) pf, ulevovat impf, ulehčit pf, ulehčovat impf, uklidnit pf, uklidňovat impf
• Latin: lēniō
• Maori: mamahu
• Portuguese: aliviar (pt)

• Russian: облегча́ть (ru) impf (oblexčátʹ), обле́гчить (ru) pf (obléxčitʹ), ублажа́ть (ru) impf (ublažátʹ)
• Spanish: aliviarse (es), descansar (es)
• Turkish: dindirmek (tr)