Definition of APPEASE

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

When that didn’t happen, Nirenberg scrambled to find a position that would appease TOP and other progressive groups, without requiring him to take any action. — Gilbert Garcia, ExpressNews.com, "Nirenberg’s strong words backed by weak action," 27 July 2019 Ironically, this was done by the former Texas governor to appease conservatives in Congress as a step toward comprehensive immigration reform. — Bob Sellers, Fortune, "The Surprising Way Republicans Used to Use Immigration to Boost the Economy," 18 July 2019 But since Trump's tweet, Justice Department lawyers have been working furiously to find a way to appease him and devise a legal maneuver that would allow the question to be added with the Supreme Court's blessing. — Anchorage Daily News, "Trump administration scrambles to save citizenship question on census," 5 July 2019 Gary does fall into the Jabrill Peppers zone of never being able to do enough to appease the unrealistic expectations of some, but he's come awfully close. — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's defensive line may be outstanding with Rashan Gary as star," 10 June 2018 Gantz has promised to take a much harsher stance toward Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, accusing Netanyahu of appeasing Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the coastal territory. — Washington Post, "AP PHOTOS: Ex-army chief hoping to be Israel’s next premier," 15 Sep. 2019 However, not everyone felt the need to appease colleagues or managers by quietly playing against expectations. — Lila Maclellan, Quartz at Work, "New research examines the treacherous experience of being “fat” at work," 9 Sep. 2019 The move to proceed with legal prosecution, in the face of such clear facts, smacks of political motivation aimed at appeasing a populace out to avenge the death of one of their own. — Armstrong Williams, National Review, "The Tragedy of Scott Hapgood," 3 Sep. 2019 As this year’s host, France isn’t just concerned with appeasing tensions among world leaders. — Julia Webster, Time, "Everything You Need to Know About the 2019 G7 Summit," 24 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'appease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.