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

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

The story’s correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi accused CBS News management of placating the White House, turning the decision into a public relations fiasco for the network. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2026