soothing

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
soothing
    adj 1: affording physical relief; "a soothing ointment for her
           sunburn"
    2: freeing from fear and anxiety [syn: {assuasive}, {soothing}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Soothe \Soothe\ (s[=oo][th]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Soothed}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Soothing}.] [Originally, to assent to as true;
   OE. so[eth]ien to verify, AS. ges[=o][eth]ian to prove the
   truth of, to bear witness. See {Sooth}, a.]
   1. To assent to as true. [Obs.] --Testament of Love.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To assent to; to comply with; to gratify; to humor by
      compliance; to please with blandishments or soft words; to
      flatter.
      [1913 Webster]

            Good, my lord, soothe him, let him take the fellow.
                                                  --Shak.
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            I've tried the force of every reason on him,
            Soothed and caressed, been angry, soothed again.
                                                  --Addison.
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   3. To assuage; to mollify; to calm; to comfort; as, to soothe
      a crying child; to soothe one's sorrows.
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            Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast,
            To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. --Congreve.
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            Though the sound of Fame
            May for a moment soothe, it can not slake
            The fever of vain longing.            --Byron.
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   Syn: To soften; assuage; allay; compose; mollify;
        tranquilize; pacify; mitigate.
        [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Soothing \Sooth"ing\,
   a. & n. from {Soothe}, v.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
125 Moby Thesaurus words for "soothing":
      United Nations troops, abatement, allayment, alleviating,
      alleviation, alleviative, analgesia, analgesic, anesthesia,
      anesthetic, anesthetizing, anodyne, appeasement, appeasing,
      assuagement, assuasive, balmy, balsamic, benumbing, blunting, calm,
      calmant, calmative, calming, cathartic, cleansing, comforting,
      conciliation, conciliatory, cradling, damping, deadening,
      demulcent, demulsion, depressant, detente, diminishment,
      diminution, dreamy, drowsy, dulcification, dulling, ease, easement,
      easing, easing of relations, emollient, falling-off, gentling,
      hushing, hypnotic, irenic, leniency, lenitive, lessening, letdown,
      letup, lightening, loosening, lubricant, lubricating,
      lubricational, lubricative, lulling, mediation, mitigating,
      mitigation, mitigative, modulation, mollification, mollifying,
      narcotic, numbing, pacific, pacification, pacificatory, pacifying,
      pain-killing, palliation, palliative, paregoric,
      peace-keeping force, peaceful, peacemaking, peacemongering,
      placability, placation, placative, placatory, propitiation,
      propitiative, propitiatory, purgative, quiet, quietening, quieting,
      reconciliatory, reduction, relaxation, relaxation of tension,
      relaxing, relief, relieving, remedial, remedy, remission, restful,
      rocking, salving, sedative, serene, slackening, sleep-inducing,
      soft, softening, somnifacient, somniferous, soothful, soporific,
      stilling, subduement, subduing, tempering, tranquilization,
      tranquilizing

    

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