conciliatory

adjective

con·​cil·​ia·​to·​ry kən-ˈsil-yə-ˌtȯr-ē 

-ˈsi-lē-ə-

: intended to gain goodwill or favor or to reduce hostility : tending or intended to conciliate

speaking in a conciliatory tone

But while the conference call might have been seen as a conciliatory gesture, an olive branch to his critics after weeks of bitter back-and-forth, the meeting seemed anything but.

—Colin Deppen

He was self-assured, aggressive, combative, at times willing to offend and at times trying to sound conciliatory.

—Dan Balz

Did you know?

If you are conciliatory towards someone, you're trying to win that person over to your side. The verb conciliate was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and descends from the Latin verb conciliare, meaning "to assemble, unite, or win over." Conciliare, in turn, comes from Latin concilium, meaning "assembly" or "council." Conciliatory, which appeared in English a bit later in the 16th century, also traces back to conciliare. Another word that has conciliare as a root is reconcile, the earliest meaning of which is "to restore to friendship or harmony."

Synonyms

• appeasing
• conciliating
• disarming
• mollifying
• pacific
• pacifying
• peacemaking
• placating
• placatory
• propitiatory

Examples of conciliatory in a Sentence

eased the tension with conciliatory remarks

Recent Examples on the Web

The move was notable, in part, because Harvard had spent the past year in a cautious, conciliatory crouch to try to ward off just that kind of scrutiny. —Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2025

The message had a conciliatory tone compared with that of his boss, President Trump, who has vowed to take back the Panama Canal from Panama. —Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 8 Apr. 2025

The drafts, sent back and forth between Bub and trustees, shift dramatically in tone from angry and defensive to conciliatory and apologetic to concise and professional. —Carly Flandro, Idaho Statesman, 4 Apr. 2025

Khamenei himself has taken a more conciliatory tone and openly speaks of welcoming American business. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conciliatory

• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory
• celebratory
• circulatory
• combinatory
• commendatory
• compensatory
• condemnatory
• confirmatory
• confiscatory

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