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

So was the England of 1939, which horrified Forster with its antisemitism and politics of Nazi appeasement. —Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 7 May 2026

The film is a quiet yearning romance alongside an interrogation of Nazi appeasement, class, and duty. —Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026

This time, Trump’s pressure tactics are sparking resistance, not appeasement. —Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026

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

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for appeasement

• easement