appease

ap·pease | \ ə-ˈpēz

appeased; appeasing

Definition of appease

1 : pacify, conciliate especially : to make concessions to (someone, such as an aggressor or a critic) often at the sacrifice of principles appeased the dictator by accepting his demands Placaters, who try hard to appease others so as to keep the peace, fear getting hurt in some way. — Mike Cote

2 : to cause to subside : allay appeased my hunger trying to appease her guilty conscience

3 : to bring to a state of peace or quiet : calm appease a quarrel

Other Words from appease Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about appease

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Choose the Right Synonym for appease

pacify, appease, placate, mollify, propitiate, conciliate mean to ease the anger or disturbance of. pacify suggests a soothing or calming. pacified by a sincere apology appease implies quieting insistent demands by making concessions. appease their territorial ambitions placate suggests changing resentment or bitterness to goodwill. a move to placate local opposition mollify implies soothing hurt feelings or rising anger. a speech that mollified the demonstrators propitiate implies averting anger or malevolence especially of a superior being. propitiated his parents by dressing up conciliate suggests ending an estrangement by persuasion, concession, or settling of differences. conciliating the belligerent nations

Examples of appease in a Sentence

But I imagine he and his siblings, who profited handsomely from the sale, have mixed emotions. They may be sad they had to sell, yet relieved that they are no longer under pressure to appease Wall Street's demand for growth and profits. — James Laube, Wine Spectator, 31 Mar. 2005 The first is that, in affluent America, mothering has gone from an art to a cult, with devotees driving themselves to ever more baroque extremes to appease the goddess of perfect motherhood. — Judith Shulevitz, New York Times Book Review, 20 Feb. 2005 It was last summer, and Gingell, then Sun Microsystems's chief software engineer, had an excuse: His twin-engine Cessna had broken down, and he'd lost track of time while he gabbed on the phone with his mechanic. That wasn't likely to appease Sun's famously tart-tongued CEO, Scott McNealy, who was getting his introductory briefing on a vital new technology initiative that happened to be Gingell's brainchild. — Erick Schonfeld, Business 2.0, September 2002 The California legislature's solution to this seemingly intractable problem was a politically appealing package with features to appease both utility investors and ratepayers. — Benjamin A. Holden, Wall Street Journal, 19 Feb. 1997 They appeased the dictator by accepting his demands in an effort to avoid war. His critics were not appeased by this last speech. They made sacrifices to appease the gods. We had no way to appease our hunger.

Recent Examples on the Web Filmmakers have worked hard to appease Chinese censors and appeal to its audiences in recent years, in order to rake in millions at the nation’s box offices. — Washington Post, The Denver Post, "“We too love money more than freedom”: South Park creators issue mock apology over Chinese censorship," 8 Oct. 2019 Late Saturday, the prime minister announced a number of measures designed to appease the protesters, including paying out unemployment benefits and providing subsidized housing and land for low-income groups. — Time, "Over 100 Dead and Thousands Wounded in Iraq as Unrest Continues," 6 Oct. 2019 For royals, great power (of fashion and charitable influence, at least) comes with great responsibility (like the responsibility to appease Queen Elizabeth and stay off social media in a personal capacity). — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Meghan Markle Wrote About Her "Brutal" Early Years in an Old Blog Post on The Tig," 1 Sep. 2019 But Westbrook apparently wasn't appeased and posted a 43-minute video to YouTube explaining the feud and her decision to end her friendship with Charles. — Lisa Respers France, CNN, "James Charles returns to YouTube," 19 June 2019 The residents, who experienced major flooding in the past, were concerned the project would cause it again, but appeared to be appeased after hearing plans from the developer to increase the size of an existing retention pond. — Rob Earnshaw, Post-Tribune, "Changes made to plan for Merrillville apartment complex," 5 June 2019 Hong Kong’s government promised last week to withdraw the bill — an early demand of protesters — but that has failed to appease the demonstrators, who have widened their demands to include other issues, such as greater democracy. — NBC News, "Hong Kong protesters sing Star Spangled Banner, appeal to Trump to 'liberate' city," 8 Sep. 2019 Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Wednesday that her government would withdraw the bill, but that failed to appease protesters who have expanded their goals to include other issues. — Eileen Ng And, BostonGlobe.com, "Hong Kong thwarts airport protest, but battles continue," 7 Sep. 2019 Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced Wednesday that her government would withdraw the bill, but that failed to appease protesters who have expanded their goals to include other issues. — Washington Post, "Hong Kong thwarts airport protest, but battles continue," 7 Sep. 2019

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