1
as in relaxing
tending to calm the emotions and relieve stress
a pacifying treat of milk and cookies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in appeasing
tending to lessen or avoid conflict or hostility
the referee adopted a pacifying tone to try to calm everyone down
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in comforting
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in subduing
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pacifying
Verb
-
Nicholas has since let go of the fear of appeasing the beauty standards of others.—
Celeste Polanco,
Essence,
1 Apr. 2025 -
Knee-jerk reactions aimed at appeasing stakeholders can backfire, raising questions about whether initiatives are genuine or simply for show.—
Anjali Chaudhry,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
There is something very soothing about sitting down and putting pen to paper, like drinking a hot cup of tea or relaxing in a sauna.—
Nancy Marshall,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
Veterinary Vision says that hearing your voice is very soothing for blind dogs, so talking to your pup often can help comfort them.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
And there is very little reason for Israel or the U.S. to think that a reconstituted Iran will become more conciliatory toward either country once the war ends.—
Shervin Malekzadeh,
Mercury News,
26 June 2025
-
For his part, Schumer appeared to acknowledge Mamdani's momentum with a conciliatory post on X the day after the election.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
Verb
-
Is there not a single executive somewhere at Netflix to greenlight a fresh retelling of the core Hanukkah story of pride, miracles, and determined guerilla warfare against a conquering despot?—
Gord Magill,
Newsweek,
20 Dec. 2024
-
Then English speakers began conquering Celtic, Native American, African, Australian and other peoples, pressuring or forcing them to give up their languages.—
Ross Perlin,
The Dial,
14 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Outside cash is dominating the special election for a new county supervisor in the South Bay.—
Andrew Keatts,
Axios,
24 Mar. 2025
-
Vancouver, meanwhile, fell short against the New York Rangers, despite thoroughly dominating play and out-chancing the struggling Rangers by a brutally lopsided margin.—
Thomas Drance,
The Athletic,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, and U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Tehran is not actively pursuing a bomb.—
Jon Gambrell,
Fortune,
26 June 2025
-
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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This will be both disarming and believable, allowing your daughter to propose times that are both far off and inconvenient.—
Jacobina Martin,
Washington Post,
15 Dec. 2022
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What follows instead is a pivotal listen that conveys trauma in an assured yet disarming way.—
Leah Greenblatt,
EW.com,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
The boys play benevolent Nathan Fielder types helping their friend Karli rehearse an upcoming appearance on the popular social-media show SubwayTakes; the prompts she’s presented with in their VR simulator offer a perfect place to nest jokes.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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Murals across Iran feature his seemingly benevolent white-bearded face.—
Steve Inskeep,
NPR,
25 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pacifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pacifying. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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