appeasement

noun

ap·pease·ment | \ə-ˈpēz-mənt

plural appeasements

Definition of appeasement

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

His fiery, farther-seeing daughter considered that little better than appeasement. — Charles Finch, USA TODAY, "Two new books reflect on why 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' and Atticus Finch, matter so much," 25 June 2018 Ousting Zucker would certainly fit into an appeasement effort. — Callum Borchers, Washington Post, "The implied threats in Trump’s tweets about CNN and Sinclair," 3 Apr. 2018 The policy of appeasement has been helpful to the Iranian regime to stay in power and at the same time is central to the Iranian people's struggle for freedom. — Eric Shawn, Fox News, "Protesters against Iranian regime see a free Tehran ahead," 30 June 2018 After claiming Kim had a change of heart about nuclear weapons, Mr. Moon pursued his plan to resurrect the Sunshine Policy of appeasement toward the North that failed in the 2000s. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Dodging a Korean Summit Failure," 24 May 2018 Now is not the time for appeasement of an agenda that attacks facts. — Nick Hollkamp, The Courier-Journal, "Voters guide: Who's running in the primaries for the state House," 18 May 2018 Stories of the Second World War console us with memories of the days before Vietnam, Cambodia, and Iraq, when the United States was the world’s good-hearted superpower, riding to the rescue of a Europe paralyzed by totalitarianism and appeasement. — Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, "How American Racism Influenced Hitler," 23 Apr. 2018 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

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.