reassuring
/ˌriːəˈʃʊərɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌriːəˈʃʊrɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌrē-ə-ˈshu̇r-iŋ/ (ame, mw)
reassuring — adjective
- reassuringpositive
- more reassuringcomparative
- most reassuringsuperlative
1. making you feel calmer and more confident by reducing fear or doubt about a situ
making you feel calmer and more confident by reducing fear or doubt about a situation
Nellie's reassuring smile helped her son feel calm before the school play.
attributive use: reassuring + noun (smile)
It was reassuring to hear the pilot say the storm had passed the airport.
Tomás found his grandmother's gentle voice strangely reassuring after a long day.
Salma gave me a reassuring nod when I told her about my plan.
- comforting
More personal and emotional; suggests gentle, warm relief rather than confidence-building
- soothing
Focuses on calming physical or emotional pain; less about doubt/fear and more about agitation
- encouraging
Emphasises giving hope or motivation for the future, not just removing worry
- heartening
Slightly more formal and less common; suggests something lifts your spirits
- alarming
Direct opposite — causing fear or worry rather than reducing it
- worrying
More general; focuses on causing anxiety about a potential problem
- unsettling
Describes something that disturbs your sense of stability or comfort
文法句型
reassuring + noun
it is reassuring + to-infinitive
it is reassuring + that-clause
find + object + reassuring
用法筆記
Commonly used in two positions: attributively before nouns that describe communication or expression (smile, voice, words, tone, nod), and predicatively with an impersonal 'it' structure (It is reassuring to know that…). For describing how a person feels, use the past participle 'reassured' (e.g. I felt reassured, not I felt reassuring).