placate

pla·cate

transitive verb \ˈplā-ˌkāt, ˈpla-\

pla·cat·edpla·cat·ing

Definition of PLACATE

: to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : appease

— pla·cat·er noun

— pla·cat·ing·ly \-ˌkā-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

— pla·ca·tion \plā-ˈkā-shən, pla-\ noun

— pla·ca·tive \ˈplā-ˌkā-tiv, ˈpla-\ adjective

— pla·ca·to·ry \ˈplā-kə-ˌtȯr-ē, ˈpla-\ adjective

Examples of PLACATE

1. The administration placated protesters by agreeing to consider their demands.
2. The angry customer was not placated by the clerk's apology.
3. Although Rumsfeld was later thrown overboard by the Administration in an attempt to placate critics of the Iraq War, his military revolution was here to stay. —Jeremy Scahill, Nation, 2 Apr. 2007
4. The first step that women took in their emancipation was to adopt traditional male roles: to insist on their right to wear trousers, not to placate, not to smile, not to be decorative. —Fay Weldon, Harper's, May 1998
5. These spirits inhabited natural objects, like rivers and mountains, including celestial bodies, like the sun and moon. They had to be placated and their favors sought in order to ensure the fertility of the soil and the rotation of the seasons. —Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time, 1988
6. But it seems important to the Thunderbirds to make a big deal out of this; evidently it placates congressmen who don't think the Air Force should be in show biz. —Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated, 3 Aug. 1987

Origin of PLACATE

Latin placatus, past participle of placare — more at please

First Known Use: 1678

Related to PLACATE

Synonyms

appease, assuage, conciliate, disarm, gentle, mollify, pacify, 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

Rhymes with PLACATE

abate, ablate, adnate, aerate, age-mate, agnate, airdate, airfreight, alate, arête, await, backdate, baldpate, bandmate, baseplate, bedmate, bedplate, berate, birthrate, bistate, bite plate, blank slate, blind date, blue plate, bookplate, breastplate, casemate, castrate, caudate, cell plate, cerate, cheapskate, checkmate, chelate, chordate, citrate, classmate, clavate, cognate, collate, comate, conflate, connate, Cook Strait, cordate, create, cremate, crenate, curate, cut-rate, deadweight, death rate, debate, deflate, delate, dentate, derate, dictate, dilate, disrate, donate, doorplate, downstate, drawplate, elate, end plate, equate, estate, faceplate, falcate, fellate, filtrate, first-rate, fishplate, fixate, flatmate, floodgate, fluxgate, flyweight, folate, formate, frustrate, gelate, gestate, ground state, gyrate, hamate, hastate, headgate, Hell Gate, helpmate, home plate, hot plate, housemate, hydrate, ice-skate, inflate, ingrate, inmate, innate, instate, irate, jailbait, Kuwait, lactate, lapse rate, legate, liftgate, ligate, lightweight, liquate, lobate, locate, lunate, lustrate, lych-gate, lyrate, magnate, makebate, makeweight, mandate, messmate, migrate, misstate, mutate, nameplate, narrate, negate, Newgate, nitrate, notate, nutate, oblate, of late, orate, ornate, ovate, palmate, palpate, peltate, phonate, pinnate, playdate, playmate, plicate, portrait, postdate, predate, prime rate, probate, prolate, pronate, prorate, prostate, prostrate, punctate, pupate, quadrate, rain date, ramate, rebate, red-bait, relate, restate, roommate, rostrate, rotate, saccate, schoolmate, seatmate, sedate, sensate, septate, serrate, shipmate, short weight, slave state, soleplate, soul mate, spectate, spicate, squamate, stagnate, stalemate, stellate, striate, sublate, substrate, sulcate, summate, tailgate, teammate, Tebet, tenth-rate, ternate, terneplate, testate, third-rate, tinplate, to date, toeplate, tollgate, tractate, translate, tristate, truncate, unweight, update, uprate, upstate, V-8, vacate, vallate, valvate, vibrate, virgate, vulgate, whitebait, workmate