Library / English Dictionary

SOOTHE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to feel better

Example:

the medicine soothes the pain of the inflammation

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "soothe" is one way to...):

alleviate; assuage; palliate; relieve (provide physical relief, as from pain)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Antonym:

irritate (excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give moral or emotional strength to

Synonyms:

comfort; console; solace; soothe

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "soothe"):

calm; calm down; lull; quiet; quieten; still; tranquilize; tranquillise; tranquillize (make calm or still)

allay; ease; relieve; still (lessen the intensity of or calm)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The good news will soothe her

The performance is likely to soothe Sue

Credits

 Context examples: 

She was the weaker then, and Beth tried to comfort and sustain her, with her arms about her and the soothing words she whispered in her ear.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“No, no,” said Mr. Peggotty, soothing her sorrows.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

You will excuse me, young sir, said he, in the suavest, most soothing of voices, but am I right in supposing that this is the house of Lieutenant Stone?

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mrs. Dashwood would have interrupted her instantly with soothing tenderness, had not Elinor, who really wished to hear her sister's unbiased opinion, by an eager sign, engaged her silence.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Let me find some soothing simples and lay them on the weal to draw the sting.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The practitioner guides the patient into a semi-hypnotic state by verbally introducing positive and soothing images.

(Imagery Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

He put a quarter in the youngster's hand and held him in his arms a moment, soothing his sobs.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You can renovate your kitchen or paint your bedroom a soothing shade of blue.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Her daughters listened in silence to this effusion, sensible that any attempt to reason with her or soothe her would only increase the irritation.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

He did all he could to soothe her, and she at last seemed to be appeased; but she was not so in truth, and was only thinking how she should punish him.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)