appeasement

noun

ap·​pease·​ment ə-ˈpēz-mənt 

plural appeasements

1

: the act or action of appeasing someone or something

… one tribe may go in for the appeasement of local ghosts …

—W. D. Howells

especially : a policy of appeasing an enemy or potential aggressor by making concessions

Although appeasement may work in individual cases, terrorist groups with global ambitions cannot be appeased by territorial concessions.

—Walter Laqueur

The Munich analogy—recalling the Allies' appeasement of Germany over its demands on Czechoslovakia in 1938—has been cited again and again, and this is understandable.

—Fredric Smoler

2

: the state of being satisfied

an experience from which he derived little appeasement

… we are relieved to read of Shaw … alleviating the tedium of a vegetarian diet with secret gorges on boiled sweets and cake; his sensuality found appeasement in sugar.

—Robertson Davies

Examples of appeasement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Campuses have tried tactics from appeasement to threats of disciplinary action to resolve the protests and clear the way for upcoming commencements. —Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 8 May 2024

Though the murder rate had declined for several years since an all-time peak in 2015 of 106 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, largely due to government negotiations with, and appeasement of, the two leading gangs, Bukele’s approach effectively broke the power of the gangs. —Brady Knox, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 31 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1