student asking question

What does "ease anger" mean? Is it common to use the verb "ease" with emotions?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

To "ease" means to soothe, alleviate, or reduce the severity of something. So to "ease anger" means to make the feeling of anger less strong. The word "ease" is normally related to feelings of physical pain but it can also be used for emotions which may cause suffering. Ex: The injured basketball player put ice on his foot to ease the swelling. Ex: She made me a cup of tea to ease my sore throat. Ex: I got a massage to ease my stress.

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