In Williams’ novel, Leave Her to Heaven, the simile describes the ease with which flood waters penetrate a barrier. The simile has also cropped up in everyday language to show something slipping by or through easily —as a legal decision past a judge.
| Imperative |
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| ease |
| ease |
| Noun | 1. | ease - freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort; "he rose through the ranks with apparent ease"; "they put it into containers for ease of transportation"; "the very easiness of the deed held her back"effortlessness - the quality of requiring little effort; "such effortlessness is achieved only after hours of practice" quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare difficultness, difficulty - the quality of being difficult; "they agreed about the difficulty of the climb" |
| 2. | ease - a freedom from financial difficulty that promotes a comfortable state; "a life of luxury and ease"; "he had all the material comforts of this world" affluence, richness - abundant wealth; "they studied forerunners of richness or poverty"; "the richness all around unsettled him for he had expected to find poverty" lap of luxury - in conditions of wealth and comfort; "he was raised in the lap of luxury" | |
| 3. | ease - the condition of being comfortable or relieved (especially after being relieved of distress); "he enjoyed his relief from responsibility"; "getting it off his conscience gave him some ease" comfort, comfortableness - a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain; "he is a man who enjoys his comfort"; "she longed for the comfortableness of her armchair" | |
| 4. | ease - freedom from constraint or embarrassment; "I am never at ease with strangers" naturalness - the quality of being natural or based on natural principles; "he accepted the naturalness of death"; "the spontaneous naturalness of his manner" | |
| 5. | ease - freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility); "took his repose by the swimming pool"inactivity - being inactive; being less active bed rest, bedrest - confinement to bed continuously (as in the case of some sick or injured persons) laziness - relaxed and easy activity; "the laziness of the day helped her to relax" lie-in - a long stay in bed in the morning leisure - freedom to choose a pastime or enjoyable activity; "he lacked the leisure for golf" | |
| Verb | 1. | ease - move gently or carefully; "He eased himself into the chair" go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" |
| 2. | ease - lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate; "ease the pain in your legs" | |
| 3. | ease - make easier; "you could facilitate the process by sharing your knowledge" | |
| 4. | ease - lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears"abreact - discharge bad feelings or tension through verbalization |