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 toward someone, you’re trying to win that person over to your side, usually by making them less angry. 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 the noun concilium, meaning “assembly” or “council.” Conciliatory, which appeared in English a bit later in the 16th century, also traces back to conciliare, and is used especially to describe things like tones, gestures, and approaches intended to turn someone’s frown upside down. Another word that has conciliare as a root is reconcile, the earliest meaning of which is “to restore to friendship or harmony.”

Synonyms of conciliatory

• placatory
• benevolent
• soothing
• peaceful
• propitiatory
• conciliating
• kind
• comforting
• pacific
• gentle
• appeasing
• mollifying
• calming

Examples of conciliatory in a Sentence

eased the tension with conciliatory remarks

Recent Examples on the Web

Lithuania's Kristupas Vaitiekunas took a more conciliatory approach. —Kamil Kowalcze, Arkansas Online, 21 Jan. 2026

But at a city commission meeting in early January, Tony struck a more conciliatory tone. —Joan Murray, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026

Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa spoke with Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Masoud Barzani, during which the latter adopted a conciliatory tone. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 18 Jan. 2026

The process, however, became bogged down amid a squabble between the crypto industry and the banking sector that escalated when Armstrong said on Wednesday that Coinbase would pull its support for the bill in response to last minute changes, before sounding a more conciliatory tone the next day. —Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2026

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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