appeasement

noun ap·pease·ment \ ə-ˈpēz-mənt \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of appeasement

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

Recent Examples of appeasement from the Web

Netanyahu compared the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran to the appeasement of Adolf Hitler in the run-up to World War II.

— ilan ben zion, BostonGlobe.com, "Sirens wail as Israel stands still for Holocaust remembrance," 12 Apr. 2018
Still, many analysts emphasize that Western appeasement of Putin did not start with Trump.

— howard lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, "Putin's provocations: Is it a new cold war if West doesn't push back?," 21 Mar. 2018
The Academy Awards began as an effort of appeasement.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "The Power-Structure Oscars," 5 Mar. 2018
And here's where the talk of appeasement becomes cloudy.

— SI.com, "Fanview: Why the Signing of Olivier Giroud Encapsulates the Chaos That Engulfs Chelsea's Hierarchy," 31 Jan. 2018
Oldman has the plum role, but Dillane, with his mouth full of aristocratic marbles, has fun too with Viscount Halifax, the country’s most forceful advocate for a peace deal, eager to cast Churchill’s attack on appeasement as war-mongering.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "'Darkest Hour': Gary Oldman's unexpectedly bright and buoyant profile of Winston Churchill," 13 Dec. 2017
Louie Steven Witt came forward and testified in Washington in 1978, explaining that his umbrella was meant to protest the Nazi-appeasement policies of Joseph P. Kennedy, the president’s father.

— daniel victor, New York Times, "A J.F.K. Assassination Glossary: Key Figures and Theories," 26 Oct. 2017
The Trump administration must make a clean break with the Obama appeasement policies.

— mary anastasia o’grady, WSJ, "A Costly Vacancy at State," 10 Sep. 2017
But prudence in seeking not to drive your opponent into a corner is not weakness and softness and appeasement.

— rosa inocencio smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Daily: Clashes and Crashes," 16 Oct. 2017

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