Which word means to make something unpleasant less severe?

• A. Assuage
• B. Attenuate
• C. Banal
• D. Austere

Answer: (A)

It's about reducing the severity of something unpleasant. The best choice is assuage, which means to ease, relieve, or mitigate pain, distress, or an uncomfortable condition. It fits a situation where the goal is to bring relief or lessen the unpleasantness.

Attenuate also means to reduce in strength or intensity, but it’s a more general, technical sense of weakening something rather than providing relief or comfort. Banal describes something dull or commonplace, not about lessening unpleasantness. Austere refers to sternness or strict simplicity, not to easing discomfort. So the word that most directly conveys making something unpleasant less severe is assuage.