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

Emboldened by four years of appeasement policies, the CCP is on the march — escalating its military activities, conducting aggressive drills around Taiwan, and increasing its belligerence in the South China Sea. —Arthur Herman, National Review, 3 Apr. 2025

Even if Sheinbaum’s appeasement approach were Mexico’s best option, her model cannot be emulated by other states, especially democratic ones. —David Frum, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2025

Stories of appeasement remind us that some people may never be satisfied—no matter how much one gives into them. —Michael S. Roth, Time, 28 Mar. 2025

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, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for appeasement

• easement