Synonyms of placating

placating 1 of 2

adjective

as in appeasing

tending to lessen or avoid conflict or hostility

a placating comment that seemed to calm everyone down a bit

Synonyms & Similar Words

• appeasing
• conciliatory
• placatory
• soothing
• comforting
• mollifying
• benevolent
• propitiatory
• pacific
• peaceful
• calming
• kind
• pacifying
• quieting
• conciliating
• disarming
• gentle
• relaxing
• satisfying
• kindly
• ingratiating
• peacemaking
• winning
• passive
• obliging
• endearing
• peaceable
• tranquilizing
• unassertive
• nonbelligerent
• amiable
• surrendering
• winsome
• good-natured
• submissive
• unaggressive
• yielding
• lulling
• amicable
• affable
• agreeable
• genial
• good-tempered

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• provoking
• nagging
• inflammatory
• aggravating
• irritating
• annoying
• frustrating
• provocative
• vexing
• antagonizing
• irksome
• abrasive
• exasperating
• maddening
• offensive
• engaging
• hostile
• galling
• infuriating
• riling
• antagonistic
• rankling
• inimical
• nettling
• belligerent
• unfriendly
• nettlesome
• aggressive
• inhospitable
• unsympathetic
• military
• combative
• confrontational
• assertive
• chafing
• antipathetic
• bellicose
• incensing
• pugnacious
• quarrelsome
• truculent
• argumentative
• contentious
• warlike
• militant
• militaristic
• agonistic
• scrappy
• martial

placating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of placate

as in comforting

to lessen the anger or agitation of

attempted to placate the screaming child by offering him a cookie

Synonyms & Similar Words

• appeasing
• comforting
• soothing
• calming
• mollifying
• pacifying
• consoling
• pleasing
• propitiating
• conciliating
• assuaging
• disarming
• satisfying
• gentling
• quieting
• delighting
• ingratiating
• contenting
• coaxing
• humoring
• tranquilizing
• gratifying
• hushing
• cajoling
• wheedling
• indulging
• flattering
• gladdening
• satiating
• endearing (to)
• quenching
• coddling
• sating
• catering (to)
• spoiling
• pampering
• mollycoddling
• babying
• adulating
• overpraising
• sweetening
• sweet-talking
• blarneying
• blandishing
• soft-soaping
• dulcifying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• angering
• inflaming
• antagonizing
• getting
• enraging
• bothering
• infuriating
• outraging
• crossing
• incensing
• maddening
• riling
• aggravating
• irritating
• provoking
• bugging
• annoying
• ruffling
• rankling
• grating
• irking
• exasperating
• roiling
• burning (up)
• vexing
• iring
• piquing
• nettling
• putting out
• chafing
• rousing
• harassing
• galling
• persecuting
• pestering
• harrying
• agitating
• worrying
• upsetting
• insulting
• distressing
• disturbing
• fretting
• peeving
• perturbing
• offending
• unsettling
• slighting
• discomforting
• affronting
• unhinging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of placating

Verb

Andy Burnham’s balancing act Rising costs also add to the pressure on new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has pledged to tackle the cost-of-living burden but is also tasked with balancing the public books and placating the bond market. — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

From the theorist’s vantage, the narrator’s couches will always be placating. — Maya Binyam, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

Scam Buster is a bot that will reply to scammers in your inbox, placating them with the same social engineering tactics that scammers use, such as impersonation, flattery, and urgent messaging. — Kim Key, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2026

The note is there when Sugar gets back, placating his suspicions (for now) and deflating his ego. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 10 July 2026

Putin has struggled to manage fighting Kyiv on the one hand and placating domestic constituencies on the other. — Anna Nemtsova, Time, 23 May 2026

In your opinion, should the shop have handled this differently—perhaps compensating or at least placating me? — Hartford Courant, 25 Apr. 2026

But there’s no guarantee her successor will have any better success at placating the president. — Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026

Without these questions, our decisions become about placating requests. — Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, Forbes.com, 12 Mar. 2026