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

The Democratic policy of appeasement is an utter failure. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 16 Mar. 2026

On March 15, 1939, Adolf Hitler moved Nazi troops into Czechoslovakia, annexing the country and ending the practice of appeasement. —Kate Perez, USA Today, 15 Mar. 2026

Chamberlain had a long career in public service, but his name will forever be tarnished in the annals of history and remembered for one thing — appeasement. —Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 8 Mar. 2026

The lesson of history is that appeasement and hope are not a strategy against a bloodthirsty tyrant. —U.s. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Hartford Courant, 28 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for appeasement

• easement