appease

ap·pease

transitive verb \ə-ˈpēz\

ap·peasedap·peas·ing

Definition of APPEASE

1

: to bring to a state of peace or quiet : calm

2

: to cause to subside : allay <appeased my hunger>

3

: pacify, conciliate; especially : to buy off (an aggressor) by concessions usually at the sacrifice of principles

— ap·peas·able \-ˈpē-zə-bəl\ adjective

— ap·pease·ment \-ˈpēz-mənt\ noun

— ap·peas·er noun

Examples of APPEASE

1. They appeased the dictator by accepting his demands in an effort to avoid war.
2. His critics were not appeased by this last speech.
3. They made sacrifices to appease the gods.
4. We had no way to appease our hunger.
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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

Origin of APPEASE

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

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to APPEASE

Synonyms

pacify, assuage, conciliate, disarm, gentle, mollify, placate, propitiate

Antonyms

anger, enrage, incense, inflame (also enflame), infuriate, ire, madden, outrage

Related Words

calm, comfort, console, content, hush, quiet, soothe, tranquilize (also tranquillize); endear (to), ingratiate; delight, gladden, gratify, please; adulate, blarney, flatter, overpraise, soft-soap; quench, sate, satiate, satisfy; cater (to), humor, indulge; blandish, cajole, coax, sweet-talk, wheedle; baby, coddle, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil; dulcify, sweeten

Near Antonyms

aggravate, annoy, antagonize, bother, bug, burn (up), chafe, cross, exasperate, gall, get, grate, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, pique, put out, rankle, rile, roil, ruffle, vex; provoke, rouse; harass, harry, persecute, pester; agitate, discomfort, distress, disturb, fret, perturb, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry; affront, insult, offend, slight

See Synonym Discussion at pacify