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

Democratic leaders have come under criticism from within, some for pushing the party too far left, and others for appearing too conciliatory toward Trump, and a number who have felt disillusioned with its agenda have left the party entirely to either identify as independent or as a Republican. —Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025

In contrast, Lee hails from a political party that has historically taken a more conciliatory approach to South Korea’s autocratic neighbor. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 4 June 2025

Editors’ Picks In his campaign, Mr. O’Connor, 40, pledged a more conciliatory approach toward powerful institutions like universities and health care companies and real estate developers. —Billy Witz, New York Times, 21 May 2025

To that end, whether or not this meeting was an outlier or a turning point signaling that Trump will take a more conciliatory tone with world leaders remains to be seen. —Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 11 May 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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