1
as in to appease
to lessen the anger or agitation of
the only thing that would pacify the child and end the tantrum was a new toy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to subdue
to bring under one's control by force of arms
additional ground forces were needed to occupy those areas that had already been pacified
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pacify
And without the pacifying force of the Dalai Lama, there will be fewer guardrails to prevent Sino-Tibetan disputes from sliding into intractable ethnic conflict.
—
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025
Harold Ross, the magazine’s founder, dispatched the editor Katharine Angell to pacify her.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Some Boxtown community members are pacified by this idea.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 13 Aug. 2025
But experience suggests the Europeans may be whistling in the wind, for all their efforts to flatter and pacify Trump.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacify
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2025
Harold Ross, the magazine’s founder, dispatched the editor Katharine Angell to pacify her.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Some Boxtown community members are pacified by this idea.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 13 Aug. 2025
But experience suggests the Europeans may be whistling in the wind, for all their efforts to flatter and pacify Trump.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pacify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pacify
Verb
-
Spin-Off and Beyond Holliday’s popularity was so immense (and to potentially appease Linda Lavin), CBS gave her a spinoff, Flo, which ran for two seasons (1980–81) and earned her another Golden Globe nomination.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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What we’ve been taught to call intimacy—caretaking, appeasing, overfunctioning—is just codependency.—
Vanessa Bennett,
SELF,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Faultlessly subdued bespoke tailoring, and his grosgrain lapel broadcasts a certain seniority.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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By contrast, growth in Unilever’s Prestige beauty division was flat as the market remained subdued.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Carr had been a game warden in Northern Rhodesia (as Zambia was then called), where hunting dominated.—
Daniel Scheffler,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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While oversized leather bomber jackets and trench coats continue to dominate fall trend reports, more voluminous, blanketing silhouettes will surely gain momentum as temperatures begin to plummet.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Australian rock outfit rises on multiple tallies in the United States this frame and even manages to double up on one tally as a former bestseller performs well again, and the group nearly re-conquers a competitive roster.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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Sometimes love conquers all — with the help of modern medicine.—
Viola Kosome,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Richmond served as the functional center for the chattel slavery system in the United States, the capitol city of the Confederacy during the Civil War and was one of the many cities that subjected residents to redlining lending practices.—
Andrea Riquier,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
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Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same indignities.—
Dan Gooding
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pacify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pacify. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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