To make quiet; to pacify, or appease; as, to allay the tumult of the passions, or to allay civil commotions.

To abate, mitigate, subdue or destroy; as, to allay grief or pain. Females, who soften and allay the bitterness of adversity.

To obtund or repress as acrimony; as, to allay the acrid qualities of a substance.

Formerly, to reduce the purity of; as, to allay metals. But, in this sense, alloy is now exclusively used.

Formerly, a baser metal mixed with a finer; but in this sense it is now written al/Ioy, which see.

That which allays, or abates the predominant qualities; as, the allay of colors. Also, abatement; diminution by means of some mixture; as, joy without allay. But alloy is now more generally used.