Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense allays, present participle allaying, past tense, past participle allayed
verb
If you allay someone's fears or doubts, you stop them feeling afraid or doubtful.
[formal]
He did what he could to allay his wife's fears. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: reduce, quiet, relax, ease More Synonyms of allay
allay in British English
(əˈleɪ)
verb
1.
to relieve (pain, grief, etc) or be relieved
2. (transitive)
to reduce (fear, anger, etc)
Word origin
Old English ālecgan to put down, from lecgan to lay1
allay in American English
(æˈleɪ; əˈleɪ)
verb transitiveWord forms: alˈlayed or alˈlaying
1.
to put (fears, etc.) to rest; quiet; calm
2.
to lessen, relieve, or alleviate (pain, grief, etc.)
SIMILAR WORDS: reˈlieve
Derived forms
allayer (alˈlayer)
noun
Word origin
ME alaien, alleggen, with confusion of form and meaning of OE alecgan (< a-, down + lecgan, to lay) & OFr alegier (alleviare: see alleviate)
Examples of 'allay' in a sentence
allay
He must act swiftly to allay their concerns.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Either you can allay her fears or she may realise she is being unreasonable.
The Sun (2016)
The government swiftly denied this but news footage of fighting outside banks has not helped to allay public fears.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My dad would always try to allay my fears, though.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is an alternative technology that could allay ecological concerns.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The other was to allay public concerns about inflation.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The board also met the three rebel investors yesterday in an effort to allay their concerns.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You may find that you can help to allay her fears.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Yet there was another agreeable alternative to rugby which promised to allay my fear of monotony.
John Cornwell Seminary Boy (2006)
Fears were allayed just three minutes into the game when a nimble move put the home side ahead.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But the Chinese hope that this visit can help to allay such concerns.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
If our suspicions are allayed, then we may move nearer again.
Torrington, Derek Personnel Management: A New Approach (1991)
This step should help to allay fears and boost public confidence and take-up of online services.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
To allay fears that he might damage historic items, he employed an archaeologist to record any finds.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I knew my job was to allay their fears.
Jan Fennell FRIENDS FOR LIFE (2003)
There is no doubt that insurance is an invaluable product which can allay financial concerns for patients and their families after a diagnosis of cancer.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In itself, the letter will not stop fanaticism or allay age-old suspicions.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The figures allay fears of low attendances at the London Games.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
If it persists, Beijing will help to boost confidence and allay fears of a looming crisis.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
On seeing the exhibition my initial fears were allayed simply by the fact that most of the artefacts are much larger than I had imagined.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The concerns were allayed a little by strong UK industrial production numbers for September.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
allay
British English: allay VERB
If you allay someone's fears or doubts, you stop them feeling afraid or doubtful.
He did what he could to allay his wife's fears.
American English: allay
Brazilian Portuguese: acalmar
Chinese: 消除恐惧、疑虑
European Spanish: aplacar
French: apaiser
German: zerstreuen
Italian: dissipare
Japanese: 鎮める
Korean: 가라 앉히다
European Portuguese: acalmar
Latin American Spanish: aplacar
Chinese translation of 'allay'
allay
(əˈleɪ)
vt
[fears]减(減)轻(輕) (jiǎnqīng)
(verb)
Definition
to reduce (fear, doubt, or anger)
He did what he could to allay the children's fears.
Synonyms
reduce
Consumption is being reduced by 25 per cent.
quiet
relax
Rules governing student conduct have been relaxed in recent years.
ease
I made her a hot water bottle to ease the pain.
calm
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
smooth
relieve
Drugs can relieve much of the pain.
check
moderate
They are hoping that she will be persuaded to moderate her views.
dull
They gave him morphine to dull the pain.
diminish
Federalism is intended to diminish the power of the central state.
compose
soften
He could not think how to soften the blow of what he had to tell her.
blunt
soothe
Lemon tisanes with honey can soothe sore throats.
subdue
He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.
lessen
Keep immunisations up to date to lessen the risk of serious illness.