appease

verb

ap·​pease ə-ˈpēz How to pronounce appease (audio)
appeased; appeasing

transitive verb

1
: pacify, conciliate
especially : to make concessions to (someone, such as an aggressor or a critic) often at the sacrifice of principles
appeased the dictator by accepting his demands
Placaters, who try hard to appease others so as to keep the peace, fear getting hurt in some way. Mike Cote
2
: to cause to subside : allay
appeased my hunger
trying to appease her guilty conscience
3
: to bring to a state of peace or quiet : calm
appease a quarrel
appeasable adjective
appeaser noun
Choose the Right Synonym for appease

pacify, appease, placate, mollify, propitiate, conciliate mean to ease the anger or disturbance of.

pacify suggests a soothing or calming.

pacified by a sincere apology

appease implies quieting insistent demands by making concessions.

appease their territorial ambitions

placate suggests changing resentment or bitterness to goodwill.

a move to placate local opposition

mollify implies soothing hurt feelings or rising anger.

a speech that mollified the demonstrators

propitiate implies averting anger or malevolence especially of a superior being.

propitiated his parents by dressing up

conciliate suggests ending an estrangement by persuasion, concession, or settling of differences.

conciliating the belligerent nations

Examples of appease in a Sentence

But I imagine he and his siblings, who profited handsomely from the sale, have mixed emotions. They may be sad they had to sell, yet relieved that they are no longer under pressure to appease Wall Street's demand for growth and profits. James Laube, Wine Spectator, 31 Mar. 2005
The first is that, in affluent America, mothering has gone from an art to a cult, with devotees driving themselves to ever more baroque extremes to appease the goddess of perfect motherhood. Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review, 20 Feb. 2005
It was last summer, and Gingell, then Sun Microsystems's chief software engineer, had an excuse: His twin-engine Cessna had broken down, and he'd lost track of time while he gabbed on the phone with his mechanic. That wasn't likely to appease Sun's famously tart-tongued CEO, Scott McNealy, who was getting his introductory briefing on a vital new technology initiative that happened to be Gingell's brainchild. Erick Schonfeld, Business 2.0, September 2002
The California legislature's solution to this seemingly intractable problem was a politically appealing package with features to appease both utility investors and ratepayers. Benjamin A. Holden, Wall Street Journal, 19 Feb. 1997
They appeased the dictator by accepting his demands in an effort to avoid war. His critics were not appeased by this last speech. They made sacrifices to appease the gods. We had no way to appease our hunger.
Recent Examples on the Web For now, though, the addition of the public access stairway to the Nichols Street Pier is enough to appease the port, meaning the pier will once again become eligible for backyard boat parking. Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024 An Israeli proposal for a string of encampments stretching along Gaza’s Mediterranean coastline that could hold more than 350,000 tents did little to appease critics when it was presented recently in Cairo, according to a second person familiar with the discussions. Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024 The leadership changes Trump wants would both appease frustrated MAGA leaders while ensuring Trump has close allies — including a family member — running the organization. Michelle L. Price, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024 Aim for a salary sweet spot that is both high enough to appease the IRS and avoid audits, but low enough to save on payroll taxes. Yvonne Cobb, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 The mayor has been trying to appease the business community after a rocky start fueled by a series of plans to tax the rich. Shruti Date Singh, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 Plan to sell off stores fails to appease Kroger and Albertsons, trying to convince regulators that the merger wouldn't reduce local competition, had agreed to sell hundreds of stores in overlapping markets to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a supply company that runs some Piggly Wiggly supermarkets. Alina Selyukh, NPR, 26 Feb. 2024 Goren said the document reflects the tricky balancing act Netanyahu has faced since the war began of trying to maintain support from the Biden administration while also appeasing the right-wing politicians upon which his fragile coalition relies — and winning back support from the Israeli public. Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2024 But those promises did not appease the throngs that had descended on the salon early Saturday morning. Liz Alderman, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'appease.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English appesen, from Anglo-French apeser, apaiser, from a- (from Latin ad-) + pais peace — more at peace

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of appease was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near appease

Cite this Entry

“Appease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appease. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

appease

verb
ap·​pease ə-ˈpēz How to pronounce appease (audio)
appeased; appeasing
1
: to make calm or quiet
2
: to make less severe : relieve
appeased my hunger
3
: to give in to even when it is wrong to do so
appeasement noun
appeaser noun
Etymology

Middle English appesen "to appease," from early French apaiser (same meaning), from a- "to" and pais "peace," from Latin pac-, pax "peace" — related to pacify, peace

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