assuasive means mild, soothing. It carries an Arena rating of 1645, earned across 13 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, assuasive ranks #2,259 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,595 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,974 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #4,028 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “assuasive” is a great word
Having a soothing, calming, or mitigating effect. From the verb assuage ("to relieve, soothe") and the suffix -ive, on the model of the word persuasive; first attested in 1713 by Alexander Pope. Unlike palliative, which merely treats symptoms, or persuasive, which seeks to change a mind, assuasive is the gentle hand that only comforts. It is the cool compress on a fevered brow, the low murmur of a familiar voice in the dark, the steady rhythm of rain on a roof—a quiet testament that while not every hurt can be healed, the severity of its presence can be, for a moment, lessened.
Etymology
From assuage (“to relieve, soothe”) on the model of persuasive.
adj
- Mild, soothing.e.g.“If in the Breast tumultuous Joys arise,
Musick her soft, assuasive Voice applies;
Or when the Soul is press’d with Cares
Exalts her in enlivening Airs.” — 1713, Alexander Pope, Ode for Musick, London: Bernard Lintott, pages 2–3:
noun
- Anything that soothes.e.g.“[…] the heat of the sun operates in all its vigour, without an assuasive to mitigate its force.” — 1808, Thomas Coke, chapter 1, in A History of the West Indies, volume 1, Liverpool, page 65:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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